The Tabernacle 

Its History and Structure 









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Conventional Tabernacle. 2. Fergusson's Restoration. 
3. Tabernacle of Text. 



The Tabernacle 



Its History 

and «* «* ^ 
Structure ^ 



By the Rev. W. Shaw Caldecott 

{Member of the Royal Asiatic Society) 



With a Preface by the Rev. A. H. Sayce, D.D., LL.D. 

{Professor of Assyriology at Oxford University) 



Our pursuit is to look after the things themselves, leaving the allegorizing 
of them unto others.— Dr. John LiGHTFOOT, 1650. 



PHILADELPHIA 

THE UNION PRESS, 1122 Chestnut Street 

1904 



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PREFACE. 

By the Rev. A. H. SAYCE, D.D., LL.D. (Professor of Assyriology at the 
Oxford University). 



MR. CALDECOTT has written a very interesting 
±T_L volume. He has been content to study the Old 
Testament books themselves instead of the commentators 
upon them, and the result is an unconventional and 
original work. He has shown that there are discoveries 
yet to be made in the text of the Old Testament by those 
who will put aside traditional interpretations and examine 
what the Hebrew writers have actually said. All the new 
views put forward by him are, of course, not likely to win 
general assent : that is the case with all pioneering work. 
It is sufficient if the most important of them prove to be 
established on a firm basis of fact. 

The kernel of the book is the history and architecture 
of the Tabernacle. There are mathematical calculations 
involved in the architectural restoration of the Israelitish 
sanctuary into which I will not follow him ; they must be 
left to the professional mathematician. It is naturally 
only that part of Mr. Caldecott's researches which deals 
with subjects familiar to me about which I am qualified 
to write. 



vi PREFACE. 

He lias made considerable use of the much-neglected 
materials contained in the Books of the Chronicles, and 
has shown that when properly understood they are worthy 
of more credit than criticism nowadays is disposed to 
allow. That David should have left ' plans ' of the future 
temple-buildings behind him may seem too modern an 
idea to many readers, but it is borne out by archaeological 
fact. Such plans were made in Egypt and Babylonia 
centuries before the days of David, and some of them have 
survived to our own time. The profession of the architect 
is immensely old in the civilised East. 

One of the points upon which he has rightly insisted is 
the historical importance of the destruction of Shiloh. It 
is a point to which I also have drawn attention in my 
Early History of the Hebrews. That there should be no 
detailed account of it in the Old Testament is not 
surprising ; Shiloh was the centre and home of what 
literary culture there was in Israel during the stormy 
period of the Judges, and its destruction necessarily meant 
a break in the literary and annalistic record. It would 
have been at the central sanctuary only that a yearly 
chronicle of events could be kept. 

The destruction of Shiloh seems to correspond with an 
archaeological fact which is but just forcing itself upon 
our notice. The earliest monument of the so-called 
' Phoenician ' alphabet still remains the Moabite Stone, the 
date of which is the ninth century before our era. The 
excavations which have been carried on by the Palestine 
Exploration Fund on the sites of various ancient cities in 
the south of Canaan have failed to bring to light any 






PREFACE. vii 

earlier relic of the ' Plio3nician ' alphabet. The same 
result has followed on the Austrian excavations at 
Taanach, where the Oanaanitish population does not 
appear to have submitted to Israelitish rule until the 
reigns of David and Solomon. Before that date whatever 
written documents have been found have been in the 
language and cuneiform script of Babylonia. At Taanach 
the official records were kept in cuneiform, and it is 
probable that what was the case at Taanach was the case 
also in other cities of the country. In the Tel el-Amarna 
tablets of the century before the Exodus there is no trace 
of any other script being known. 

On the other hand, the Tyrian annals translated into 
Greek by Menander must have been written in ' Phoenician ' 
letters, and we know from Josephus that they went back 
to Hiram, the son of Abibal, the contemporary of David 
and Solomon. In the Book of Judges we have in the Song 
of Deborah and Barak a poem which is contemporaneous 
with the events to which it refers. Supposing that it 
was handed down in writing and not orally — and the 
allusion to ' the staff of the scribe ' in Judges v. 14 raises 
a presumption in favour of this — was it originally written 
in cuneiform characters or in the letters of the ' Phoenician' 
alphabet ? If in the latter, the archaeological absence of 
any early example of the ' Phoenician ' script is, to say 
the least, difficult to explain* It may be, then, that the 
destruction of Shiloh marks the break between the old 
culture and the new, between the use of the cuneiform 
syllabary and the Babylonian language that went* along 
with it, and that of the ' Phoenician ' alphabet and the 



viii PREFACE. 

Canaanitish or Hebrew tongue. The importance of the 
fact in its relation not only to Israelitish history but also 
to the composition and text of the older books of the Old 
Testament need not be pointed out. 

In his restoration of the architecture of the Tabernacle, 
Mr. Caldecott seems to me to have been successful. At 
all events, if it is admitted, the Biblical description of the 
building becomes intelligible and self-consistent. That 
more than one cubit was employed in its measurement is 
what would be expected by anyone who was acquainted 
with the metrology of ancient Babylonia or who had lived 
in modern Egypt. It is only with his interpretation of 
the Senkereh tablet, or rather of the ideographs found in 
it, that I must part company from the author. 

His book once more impresses upon us the necessity of 
archaeological research in Palestine. There are questions 
suggested by it which can be settled only by the spade of 
the excavator. If Mr. Caldecott is right in his theory as 
to the origin of the Rdmet el-Khalil near Hebron, a new 
light will be cast on the social and religious condition of 
Israel in the age of Samuel. And in reading what he has 
to say about Shiloh, more than once I have been inclined 
to exclaim : ' Oh that the site could be archseologically 
explored ! ' Until Palestine has been made to yield up 
its buried past like Egypt and Babylonia, the Old 
Testament will remain a battle-ground for disputants who 
have no solid basis of fact on which to stand. 



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INTRODUCTION. 



I WHITE from the once Holy City, and am happy in 
knowing that the object of my visit to Palestine has 
been satisfactorily attained. Let me say, in brief, what 
that object was, and in what manner the problems that 
I brought with me have been solved. I came prepared 
with a literary demonstration of the cubit of the Bible, 
as given to the Royal Asiatic Society 1 and included 
in this volume. That instrument I was desirous of 
applying, as a test both of itself and of the subject, to the 
most remarkable ruin within the limits of the ancient 
Jewish State. 2 When I say 'ruin' I limit the term to 
include only buildings dedicated to the worship of God 
or the service of man. The special ruin to which I refer 
is a large rectangular ground-figure enclosed within 
monolithic stone walls, standing near to, though not 
visible from, the ancient highway leading from Jerusalem 
to Hebron. Countless travellers have looked on this 
mysterious handiwork of man with reverence and wonder. 
Each must have speculated as to who reared its massive 
masonry, and for what purpose. Archaeologists have 

1 Reproduced in this volume as Part II. p. 107 et seq. 

2 See Br. Edward Robinson's descriptions in Part I, Chapter 2, pp. 42, 43. 



x INTRODUCTION. 

agreed that we have not here the remains of a church. 
Nor could these low walls of solid stone have been those 
of any military fortification, as the work is of too refined 
and time-engrossing a character to have been done for 
the purposes of war. The questions remain, to whom 
do we owe these vast substructions, and for what 
purpose were they laid ? To these questions I believed 
that I had an answer, and I was supremely anxious to 
visit Rdmet el-Khalil and to satisfy myself on certain 
points before giving that answer to the world. 

For this purpose I made my way to Hebron, where 
I was received with the most cordial hospitality by 
Dr. and Mrs. Paterson, of the United Free Church 
Medical Mission, stationed there. From Dr. Paterson 
I also received much-needed and invaluable assistance in 
taking measurements, and in making other arrangements 
necessary in a population so hostile to Christians as is 
that of Hebron to-day. 

As I am publishing, with this, a reconstructed plan 
of the enclosure, together with sundry photographs of it, 
I do not need to add many topographical details. I may, 
however, be allowed to show the significance of some 
figures given in the drawing of the Plan of reconstruction. 
The first and in some respects the cardinal result attained 
by my measurements is a conviction that the Rdmet 
ruin is a work of Jewish, or rather of Israelitish origin, 
and that the standard of length used in its construction 
is that of the newly-discovered Hebrew cubit. The 
thickness of the walls throughout, where perfect, is a 
good illustration of this fact. The foundation, wherever 



INTRODUCTION. xi 

visible, has a -uniform thickness of 6 feet, or 5 cubits. 
The foundation being built of this dimension to the level 
of the interior, it is then rebated or reduced by the length 
of a single cubit, and is 44 feet through. Its height above 
the foundation is 6 cubits (7 ft. 2*4 ins.), each of the two 
courses of stone having an average height of 3 ft. 7 ins., 
as stated in the Survey of Western Palestine , published by 
the Palestine Exploration Fund Society (vol. iii. p. 322). 

A similar harmony runs throughout the whole series 
of actual measurements, the unbroken building cubit of 
a-foot-and-a-fifth being the common denominator of all 
the dimensions of original work still standing. 1 This 
is particularly noticeable in the diameter of the well, 
which has a measure of 8 cubits (9f feet), and is 
surrounded by a platform 15 cubits in the square 
(18 feet). 

One could not expect a structure that may have 
resisted the weathering influence of three thousand 
years to show as crisp and exact a set of figures as it 
did when first erected. Nor must we leave out of 
view the depredations of an ignorant peasantry. Of 
this there is a somewhat obvious case in the rough 
chiselling of one of the border stones of the well- 
platform into a trough out of which small cattle may 
drink. Happily the stone is still in situ. 

Nor are the four walls which formed the enclosure 
perfect. That on the south side is in an almost unbroken 

1 This fact is of the first importance, as Hebrew architects and builders 
did not usually use fractions in conjunction with whole cubits. For measures 
less than a single cubit, see pp. 220, 223. 



xii INTRODUCTION. 

condition, many of its stones being 12 and 15 feet in 
length, laid without mortar, and truly squared. The 
west wall is in fair condition, 1 as is a portion on the north 
side. The east wall has almost completely disappeared, 
though its line can still be traced. There is thus no 
difficulty in determining the size of the enclosure as 
originally constructed. To this point the greatest 
interest attaches, as it is well established that every 
sacred area amongst the Jews was not built upon by 
its surrounding wall, but was enclosed by it. Keeping 
this principle in view, I was careful to see if there were 
any relation in size between the area enclosed at Rdmet 
and the primitive court of the Tabernacle — which, in the 
times of the Judges, stood successively at Grilgal, Shiloh, 
Nob, and Gibeon. As the large or ground-cubit was used 
in all such delimitations, we know from Exodus that the 
People's or Altar Court of the Tabernacle was a square of 
50 cubits or 75 English feet, and that the great Altar 
of Sacrifice stood on its western line, equidistant from its 
two ends. Judge of my surprised delight when I found 
that the Rdmet enclosure gave a square of 100 cubits or 
150 English feet in the clear, 2 showing it to have had an 
area exactly four times that of the Tabernacle Court of 
Worship. The growth of the nation in the centuries that 
passed between the great Lawgiver and the last of the 
Judges would make such an enlargement necessary. 

1 See photographs of portions of its interior and exterior, opposite 
pp. 3 and 17. 

2 Not including those portions of the foundation built only to the level of 
the floor. 



5 H 




INTRODUCTION. xiii 

I must no longer conceal from my readers the fact that 
the theory which I took with me to Palestine, and which 
I wished to test by an appeal to the topography of 
Bdmet, was that the enclosure now standing was built to 
surround with a stone fence 'the Altar to Jehovah that 
Samuel built in Ramah/ about 1050 B.C. (1 Samuel vii. 17). 

In furtherance of the correctness of this view let me 
enlarge for a moment on the requirements of such an 
altar, as deduced from all that we know of the Mosaic 
economy of sacrifice. Having an east aspect as an 
essential, 1 there would require to be, in addition to the 
altar-court in which the people assembled, space for the 
ministrations of the priests and for the slaying of the 
sacrifices. 

In the Tabernacle these ends were attained by the 
curtaining of a second square of 75 feet lying to the west. 
There being no Tabernacle at Ramah, a compromise was 
effected, by which a space about equal to one-third of the 
Great Court was included within the stone-walling. The 
interior length of the enclosure is 204 feet, it having been 
imperative that the additional width of 54 feet should be 
measurable either by the large cubit for Survey purposes 
or by the medium cubit for building purposes. I need 
not point out that 54 feet is equal to 36 large and 45 
medium cubits. 

The present condition of the ruin shows that the added 
54 feet was, at one end of the addition, divided into three 

1 The north and south walls at Eamet run east, with an inclination of 
4° to the south, as recorded in the third volume of the Survey of Western 
Palestine. 



xiv INTRODUCTION. 

squares of equal size. There are, as partially shown in 
one of the photographs, two paved platforms (of different 
heights of paving) in the south-west corner of the Ramet 
enclosure. Each of these is a square of 18 feet, a third 
square of the same size intervening between them and the 
line of the large quadrangle in which the altar stood. 
This third square was probably used as a wood-pile for the 
altar fires, the centre square as the place for the laver, and 
the corner square still retains its intended use as that in 
which the well was dug that supplied water for the washing 
of the sacrifices and the repeated ablutions of the priests. 
It is not necessary here to linger over minor points of 
coincidence, though there are many such. 1 But I cannot 
omit a short reference to the well itself. This is, without 
exception, the finest bit of ancient masonry in the Land 
of the Bible. Each stone is squared and set without 
mortar. The well, fed by an interior spring, was 
brimming full of clear water when I saw it, but each 
stone visible had a concave face, without margin or boss. 
The stones are not of a uniform size or thickness, but 
each concentric circle or course was completely formed 
of full- sized stones, all of the same thickness. No such 
careful and elaborate work as this well shows is to be seen 
anywhere else in Palestine, so far as my reading and 
observation go. 

1 The most obvious of these is, perhaps, that of the ledges as shown in the 
' interior ' photograph and referred to in the table of references on the 
reconstruction plan. The length of these was possibly determined by the size 
of the stone slabs which rested on them, as they are not uniform and do not 
conform to the whole-cubic principle. As such tables were not ordered in the 
specification, a certain latitude may have been taken in their construction. 



INTRODUCTION. xv 

Let me add a few words of description as to the 
desecration which has been allowed to take place at 
Rdmet in quite recent times. The Fellaheen have been 
permitted to build two walls of rubble stone across the 
enclosure, dividing it into three nearly equal parts. Two 
of the three spaces thus created have been made into 
gardens by carrying some tons of earth to overlay the 
rock. The space to the west in which the well stands 
is comparatively clear. All search for the main entrance 
gate in the centre of the east wall is further barred by 
the erection, within the enclosure, of a rubble house, 
untenanted. Without the line of this wall lie great 
heaps of stones piled in confusion. Were the earth and 
stones that now encumber it removed, the question of 
Samuel's possible connection with the Rdmet el-Khalil 
could be finally and authoritatively settled. The sills of 
the north door and east gate might be recovered, and even 
the foundation of the altar-base might be distinguishable. 

It is to be hoped that this work will not be left to 
private enterprise. The one man to whom it should be 
entrusted is Mr. Macalister, the Officer of the Palestine 
Exploration Fund, now working with a band of trained 
excavators in Palestine. Should he be set to do the work 
of verification, the confidence of the public in the accuracy 
of any report that he may make will be secured, and, in my 
belief, the Rdmet el-Khalil, when scientifically examined, 
will take its place as at once the oldest and most authentic 
Palestinian memorial of Israel's past religious history. 

In concluding this very imperfect sketch of the origin 
and probable use of a monument which may be found 



xvi INTRODUCTION. 

to antedate the establishment of the Hebrew monarchy, 
and incidentally to settle the greatest unsolved problem 
of Biblical geography, i.e. the locality of Samuel's 
Raman, I may be permitted to refer to the encourage- 
ment given to me to make these investigations by 
Sidney Hill, Esq., of Langford House, Langford, Somerset, 
and to my own sense of pleasure at being able to put 
the results of them into such a permanent record as we 
have before us in this volume. 

W. SHAW CALDECOTT. 
Jerusalem. 

February, 1904. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Peeface by the Rev. Pkofessob, A.H. Sayce, D.D.,LL.D. v 

Introduction ix 

PART I 

THE HISTORY OF THE TABERNACLE 

Chapter I 

TO THE DESTRUCTION OF SHILOH 

The Start from Sinai — First arrival at Kadesh — First departure 
from Kadesh — Second arrival at Kadesh — Second departure 
from Kadesh — Death of Aaron— The Edomite route taken — 
Early Stages — Passage of the Jordan— The Tabernacle at 
Gilgal — Eemoved to Shiloh — Decay of Faith — Fall of Shiloh — 
Returned to Gilgal — Defeat of the Philistines . . . 1-34 

Chapter II 

TO THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE 

History of the Tabernacle — Samuel's Last Days — His Altar at 
Ramah — The functions of Sacrifice — Edmet el-Khalil — The 
Ramet Enclosure — Saul's visit to Samuel — His return to 
Gibeon — Tabernacle removed to Nob — Identification of Nob — 
Sennacherib on Nob — The Tabernacle at Gibeon — Massacre of 
the Gibeonites — Gibeon as a Capital — Tabernacle Site at 
Gibeon — A second Tabernacle — Rise of Obed-Edom — Ark 
brought to Jerusalem — Public Worship reorganized — Theophany 
on Moriah — Altar built on Moriah — Three centres of Worship — 
David's Plans for the Temple — Descendants of Moses — Solomon 
becomes King — Temple Service organized — Courts of Law 
readjusted — Ecclesiastical towns revised — Reduction of Priestly 
towns — Reduction of Kohathite towns— Reduction of Merarite 
towns — Discontent removed — High-priesthood settled— Taber- 
nacle history ended — ' The second Priest ' .... 35-104 



xYiii CONTENTS. 

PART II 

THE TEIPLE CUBIT OF BABYLONIA 

Chapter I 

ON THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SENKEREH TABLET 

Glossary of principal Cuneiform characters used in the Senkereh page 
Tablet — The Senkereh Mathematical Tablet — History of the 
Tablet — The Tablet columns — Deductions from the Tablet — 
Fraction signs — Value signs — Arithmetical sign . . . 105-139 

Chapter II 

THE RESTORATION OF THE SCALE OF GUDEA AND ITS 

COINCIDENCES WITH THE SENKEREH TABLET 

History of the Scale of Gudea — The Scale itself — Length of 
the Scale — Cuttings on the Scale — Palm of the Scale — The 
Sexagesimal System — Application of the Scale — Babylonian 
length -measures 140-156 

PART III 

THE TRIPLE CUBIT OF BABYLONIA AS USED IN 

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE 

Chapter I 

THE ADJUNCTS AND ACCESSORIES OF THE TABERNACLE 

The Biblical Cubit announced — ' Cubits ' of three lengths — Hebrew 
conservatism — Size of the Tabernacle Court — The Court 
Enclosure — Plan of the Court — The Gate of Sacrifice — The 
Gate of "Worship — Vestibule of the East Gate — Dimensions of 
the Great Altar — Position of the Great Altar — Pre- Tabernacle 
Tent of Worship — Pillars of the Tabernacle — The eleven 
Curtains of the Tent — The Screen of the Tabernacle — 
External coverings 157-192 

Chapter II 
THE TABERNACLE WITHIN THE TENT 

The Walls of the Tabernacle — Holy Chambers exact in size — The 
Veil of the Sanctuary — The figured Curtains — Ventilation of 
the Chambers — The Tent portable — The Curtains not sewn — ■ 
Tent -ropes and pegs — Dormitories of the Tent — Gilding of the 
Tabernacle 193-213 



At the suggestion of the author the ar- 
rangement of the illustrations in this edition 
was changed after they were printed, princi- 
pally to bring together in one place for easy 
reference and study, the four illustrations 
representing the four stages in the erection 
of the Tabernacle. 



CONTENTS. 



PAET IV 

THE TRIPLE CUBIT IN BABYLONIA AND IN 
PALESTINE 

PAGE 

New light on the Tabernacle — The Small Cubit as Span — Testimony 
of the Talmud — The Stature of Goliath — The Cubits of 
Herodotus — The Birs-Nimroud — Influence of Babylon in Asia 215-231 



Index 



232 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



to face 
to face 



1, Conventional Tabernacle ; 2, Fergusson's Restoration ; 

3, Tabernacle of Text Frontispiece 

The Ramet Enclosure — Exterior of "West "Wall 

Reconstruction of Samuel's Altar at Ramah . 

Map of Sinai Peninsula and Canaan 

The Ramet Enclosure — Interior of West Wall . „ 17 

The Erection of the Tabernacle — First Stage . ,, 32 

,, „ Second Stage . „ 48 

„ ,, Third Stage . „ 64 

,, „ Fourth Stage 

The Scale of Gudea 142, 143 

The Tabernacle of Witness and Court of the Tabernacle . 166 

Outline Plan of the Outer Court and Tabernacle . . 171 

The Eleven Curtains 186 

The Screen of the Tabernacle 189 

The Forty-eight Boards . . 196 

The Inner Veil 199 

The Ten Curtains 201 

Reconstruction Plan of the Birs-Niwiroud .... 228 
Geometric Principle of the Tabernacle Tent . . .230 



PART I. 



THE HISTORY OF THE TABERNACLE. 



CHAPTER I. 
TO THE DESTRUCTION OF SHILOH. 

THE Tabernacle and its Tent were set up on the first 
day of the ecclesiastical year, and a great passover 
service held thereat on the first anniversary of the Exodus. 

A few days were spent in perfecting its ceremonial 
organization, and on tne first day of the second month a 
census of the people was taken, and the princes of the tribes 
selected. Preparations were then made for journeying. 
Six covered wagons, each drawn by two oxen, were 
presented by the princes on behalf of the tribes^ and, 
from the uses to which these were put, we gain a view 
of the relative sizes of the tabernacle parts, and of the 
portability of the whole construction. 

To the children of Kohath, the second son of Levi, 
and the grandfather of Moses and Aaron, was relegated 
the duty of carrying, upon their shoulders, the ark of the 
covenant, the two altars (one of brass and one of gold), 
and all the furniture and vessels of the sanctuary. The 
ark was wrapped in the most sacred veil, and the screen 
of the Tabernacle was folded together and carried free. 
The removal of this portion of the structure was under 
the direct care and supervision of the High-priest, and 
did not allow of the use of any vehicle. 



4 THE TABERNACLE. 

To the Gershonites fell the duty of conveying the 
twenty-one curtains of the tent and the Tabernacle, the 
skin covering of the tent, and the sixty linen-hangings 
of the surrounding court, with their pegs and ropes. 
Besides these there were two screens. One of these was 
the embroidered screen of the east gate. The other is 
that which is described as 'the screen for the door 
of the court which is by the tabernacle and the altar ' 
(Numbers iii. 26). l We have, in these words, the first 
recognition in the text of that north gate which was 
directly opposite to the brasen altar. We learn also that 
it had its own screen, which was unembroidered and of 
white linen, and was probably put in place only when 
the court of the Tabernacle was closed. It would require 
to have been 15 feet in length to have closed the 
opening. 2 There would be a centre-post opposite the 
line of the Boreg. 

Eleazar, the prospective High-priest, was appointed to 
oversee this department of the transport, and two wagons 
were detailed for his use. 

To the Merarites, as the descendants of the youngest 
of the sons of Levi, the heavy work of the removal was 
entrusted. Forty-eight boards, each 12' X 1|- ' X-pV, sixty 
wooden standards, with their metal sockets, twelve pillars 

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture references of this volume are to 
the text of the Revised Version of the English Bible. 

2 It was the removal of this screen, which was probably composed of two 
curtains, that is referred to in the words * Samuel opened the doors of 
th& house of the Loud' (1 Samuel iii. 15). This was done at the dawning 

~vi the morning, the offering of the morning sacrifice being completed before 
the rising of the sun. 



THE START FROM SINAI. 5 

and fifteen side - bars, together with the two pieces of 
the ridge- bar, were their care. For the transport of the 
timber of the Tabernacle, four wagons were given, the 
whole being under the hand of Ithamar, the younger 
son of Aaron. 

1. All was now materially arranged for a start from 
Sinai. But one duty still remained to be performed, 
which was the dedication of the brasen altar by anointing 
(Exodus xxix. 37; Numbers vii. 81-88). Not until this 
was done was it 'most holy/ and capable of fulfilling its 
great function in the economy of Jahvism. 

A week was spent in the performance of this ceremony, 
during which many gifts were made for the service of 
the altar. These were 'spoons' with which to handle 
the incense, 'bowls' in which to convey the sacrificial 
blood to the altar for sprinkling, and platters or trays on 
which to carry the sacrificial joints. All these were 
of gold or silver, and remained to after-times as part of 
the utensils for the service of the altar. 

This week of dedication followed the first solemnisation 
of the passover in the wilderness, and on the twentieth 
day of the second month the guiding cloud lifted. 

In an instant all was activity ! The Tabernacle was 
taken down, having stood for fifty days only. The 
Grershonites moved forward first, as by the eleven curtains 
which they carried, the new site for the tent had to be 
marked out. 1 The Merarites followed with the standards 

1 For the reason of this see pp. 208 and 230. 



6 THE TABERNACLE. 

and boards and pillars to be set up. Last, came the holy- 
vessels, which on arrival were placed, by priestly hands, 
in the already-erected Sanctuary. Such, repeated again 
and again, was the order in which the Tabernacle moved 
from place to place during the whole period of its history. 

2. The general direction taken by the guiding cloud 
in removing from Sinai is indicated in the words 'And 
the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran ' (Numbers 
x. 12). If by Paran we are to understand 'that great 
and terrible wilderness ' which lay between Horeb and 
Kadesh-Barnea l (Deut. i. 19), in the heart of Arabia, 
now known as Badiet et-Tzh, the pathless Wilderness, 
the direction of the route taken by the Israelites will not 
be difficult of decision. 

In this wilderness the oasis of Zin (= lowland, as 
opposed to the uplands of the Negeb) was the tract of 
pasture-land now known as the Wady Qadees — the term 
' wilderness ' having reference to its non-occupation by 
man, and not being meant to describe its physical qualities. 
The Wady Qadees or Kadtsis an irregularly-surfaced plain, 
several miles in diameter. In this fertile amphitheatre 
is the Ain Kadis, one or more never-failing springs of 
clear water, rising at the foot of a limestone cliff, which, 



1 On Samuel's death David is said to have gone down ' to the wilderness 
of Paran.' Thence he sent to Carmel and Maon to Nabal, having heard 
that he was shearing his sheep. These places are about 68 miles north of 
Ain Kadis (1 Samuel xxv. 1). As all journeys were performed afoot, it is 
impossible to limit the northern extension of the term ' wilderness of Paran ' 
to any distance from Carmel greater than this would allow of. The more so 
as David claimed to have protected Nabal's property. 



FIBST ABRIYAL AT KADESH. 7 

flowing down the valley, spread fertility on either hand. 
Before being lost in the sand, a few hundred yards away, 
they fill two stone wells or basins built up from the 
bottom with limestone blocks. Around lie stone troughs 
for watering stock. 

The principal event of the first stay at Kadesh, now 
Kadis, was the sending of the spies in advance to search 
out the land (Numbers xiii.). It is noteworthy that they 
traversed the land, probably in companies of two or three, 
as far as the pass oiHunin in the latitude of Tyre, beginning 
from the point at which the camp lay in the oasis of Zin. 
This rich valley was provisionally included in the national 
territory, the frontier of which ran to its immediate 
south (Numbers xxxiv. 4), and was allotted to the tribe 
of Judah (Joshua xv. 3). 

These facts will prepare us for the reception of a little 
recognised aspect of the forty years' wanderings, which 
is, that with the exception of a short time spent in 
travel across the Arabah, thirty-eight years were spent 
at the central station of Kadesh-Barnea. The evidence 
on this behalf is purely textual and is convincingly 
clear. The record is as follows : — On leaving Hazeroth 
the congregation pitched in the wilderness of Paran 
(Numbers xii. 16). The itinerary gives seventeen 
marches — each probably the effort of a single day l — 
from Sinai, through the wilderness of Paran, the last 



1 Thus Hazeroth is described as a three days' journey from Sinai (Numbers 
x. 33). The encampments were at Taberah (Numbers xi. 3), Kibroth- 
hattaavah, and Hazeroth (Numbers xi. 34-35). Fourteen names follow 
Hazeroth in Numbers xxxiii. 



8 THE TABEKNACLE. 

being to Bene-jaakan (Numbers xxxiii. 16-31). There 
is more than a suspicion that this place was that after- 
wards named Kadesh ( = the Holy), from the long 
stay of the Tabernacle there. Originally the home of 
the children of Jaakan, the descendants of Seir, the 
Horite (Genesis xiv. 6 and xxxvi. 27 ; 1 Chronicles i. 42), 
who may have built the limestone basins to conserve 
the water of the springs, it became known, later, as 
the Wells of the Children of Jaakan (Deut. x. 6). 
This was the place to which the children of Israel 
came when they encamped on the other side of the 
wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh (Numbers xiii. 26). 
It is a faint reminiscence of those far-off days of the 
troglodyte inhabitants of the oasis of Zin, that the 
name of the neighbouring station of Hor-haggidgad, 
= the cavern of Gidgad (Numbers xxxiii. 32), has 
prefixed to it the Horite name. This is the Mount 
Hor on which Aaron died (Numbers xx. 23), and 
which is stated to be situated * by the border of 
Edom/ thus showing its proximity to Kadesh, 1 of 
which the same is predicated in the 16th verse of 
the same chapter. To this subject we must return on 
a later page, as it is the hinge on which the whole 
question of the later stages of the Exodus route turns. 

1 1. The biblical indications as to the situation of Kadesh are these : — 

(1) It was eleven days ordinary caravan journey from Horeb when 
travelling the Edom road (Deut. i. 2). A caravan travels from fifteen to 
eighteen miles per diem. The direct distance from Sinai to Ain Kadis is 
one hundred and fifty miles. In the itineraries of Numbers seventeen 
marches are given by name, showing that those taken by the host were 
shorter than was usual. This is what we might anticipate. 

(2) Kadesh is described as ' a city ' on the edge of the boundary of Edom 



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FIKST DEPABTUKE FEOM KADESH. 9 

3. As has been stated, the first year of the wanderings 
was spent in travelling to Sinai and in a prolonged stay 
there. Sinai was left on the twentieth day of the second 
month of the second year of the Exodus (Numbers x. 11). 
The actual days of travel to Kadesh were seventeen, but 
there were delays, as at Hazeroth, where they ' abode ' 
and rested (Numbers xi. 35). It is thus impossible to fix 
the time of the arrival at the wells of the Beni-Jaakan, 
but the stay there was sufficiently long to allow of the 
forty days' absence of the twelve spies. 

On the morrow after their defeat by the Amorites at 
the place afterwards called Hormah (Numbers xiv. 25, 
and Deut. i. 44), the congregation was bidden to leave 



(Numbers xx. 16 and xxxiv. 3). It was then occupied by the Hebrew 
host, as an enclosed place, or ' Ir,' and was otherwise unclaimed. The 
calling of it ' a city ' is an undesigned proof of its long -continued occupation 
by the Hebrew host. 

(3) The well Beer-lahai-roi is described as being between Kadesh and 
Bered (Genesis xvi. 14). As Bered is identified with Halasah, thirteen 
miles south of Beersheba, the geographical conditions suit Ain Kadis. 

(4) It lay to the south of Arad, now Tell Arad (Numbers xiv. 45 and 
xxi. 1-3). Ain Kadis is almost due south of Tell Arad. 

(5) It was near the hill country of the Amorites (Deut. i. 20). The 
Amorites are described as living in the ' mountain ' or elevation on which 
Arad was situate (Deut. i. 44) . 

II. The following is a list of the Scripture designations of the place after- 
wards known as Kadesh : — 

(1) En-Mishpat, the same is Kadesh ( = the spring of judgment, 
Genesis xiv. 7) . 

(2) Bene- Jaakan ( = the children of Jaakan, 1 Chron. i. 42 ; Numbers 
xxxiii. 31). 

(3) Beeroth-bene- Jaakan (=the wells of the sons of Jaakan, Deut. x. 6). 

(4) Meribah- of- Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin (Numbers xxvii. 14 ; 
Deut. xxxii. 51). 

(5) The wilderness of Zin, the same is Kadesh (Numbers xxxiii. 36). 

(6) The waters of Meriboth- Kadesh (Ezekiel xlvii. 19 and xlviii. 28). 

(7) ' Kadesh-Barnea ' has ten occurrences in the Hexateuch. 

(8) ' Meribah ' has five occurrences in the Pentateuch and Psalms. 



10 THE TABEBNACLE. 

Kadesh, and take their journey into the Wilderness of 
the Red Sea. This the humiliated people did, and they 
reached Ezion-Geber, which, as the crow flies, is seventy- 
five miles south of Kadesh. 

Of that journey of disgrace and punishment not 
a single incident is recorded. Of the stations at which 
they must have encamped, three only are named, if we 
exclude the two termini (Numbers xxxiii. 32-36). The 
return journey is described in a single sentence : ' They 
journeyed from Ezion-Geber and pitched in the wilderness 
of Zin, the same is Kadesh.' 

It is appropriate that an expedition which was 
altogether punitive should find mention in the historical 
records of that time, and nothing more. Beyond the 
fact of removing them from further attack by the Amorites 
it had no apparent object, except a moral one. 

Eight or ten months would seem to have been spent 
on this expedition. This period is arrived at by the 
statement that they went over the brook Zered on the 
anniversary of their first departure from Kadesh 
(Deut. ii. 14). 

If there are no exact data to give us the time of their 
first departure from Kadesh, we know to a few days the 
date of their return. 'They came into the wilderness 
of Zin (to abide there) in the first month ' (Numbers 
xx. 1). That this was the first month of the third year 
of their wanderings hardly admits of doubt to an unbiassed 
mind. It is probable that they arrived at Kadesh in 
time to keep the Passover on the fourteenth day of that 
month, but no mention is made of the fact. As the 



SECOND ARRIVAL AT KADESH. 11 

ordinary sacrifices were not offered during the years in 
the wilderness (Amos ii. 10 ; v. 25), it is possible the 
seasons were merely observed without them. This 
provisional state of things, as regards sacrifices, is 
referred to by Moses in Deut. xii. 5-9. 

It thus transpires that two whole years were spent by 
the fugitives from Egypt in wandering from place to 
place. These were the first two of the forty. It is to 
these years that the Psalmist refers : 

* They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way ; 

They found no city of habitation. 

Hungry and thirsty, 

Their soul fainted in them. 

Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, 

And He delivered them out of their distresses. 

He led them also by a straight way, 

That they might go to a city of habitation ' ; 

(Psalm cvii. 4-7) : 
that ' city ' being the enclosed camp at Kadesh 
(Numbers xx. 16). 

4. Having arrived at Kadesh for the second time, the 
congregation and the Tabernacle did not again remove 
until thirty- seven years had passed. 1 Aaron's death 
took place at the first station after their final departure, 
and it occurred on the first day of the fifth month 
of the fortieth year of their exile (Numbers xxxiii. 38). 

1 The sentence pronounced upon them for their unbelief was not that they 
should be ' wanderers forty years,' but that they should be ' shepherds in the 
wilderness ' for that time (Numbers xiv. 33, margin). 



12 THE TABEENACLE. 

This was the fifth lunar month after the Spring 
equinox, and corresponds with the end of July or 
beginning of August. In March or April thirty-seven 
years before, the congregation had arrived there from 
Ezion-Geber. 

Of these thirty -seven years, the 'many days' of 
Deut. ii. 1, few or no incidents are recorded. The 
adult males of the nation were under sentence of 
death, and during these years the merciful punishment 
fell gradually and almost insensibly. 

One incident of ingratitude and rebellion, which had 
far-reaching consequences, is recorded. It is the only 
incident so recorded, and this, not because it was 
intended to give any particulars of the history of the 
people, but because it became the reason for the exclusion 
of Aaron and Moses from the promised land. That 
event was, of course, the murmuring of the people 
because there was no water, or not enough water 
(Numbers xx. 2-13). This solitary incident of the thirty- 
seven years at Kadesh has suffered misapprehension in 
two directions. One, by confounding it with a similar 
outbreak at Hephidim soon after the departure from 
Sinai (Exodus xvii. 1-7). But the two outbreaks 
are clearly distinguished in the blessing of Moses — the 
former being called Massah ( = proving), and the latter 
Meribah 1 (= strife), (Deut. xxxiii. 8). The other mistake 
is that of supposing that the water from the smitten 
rock ' followed ' the wandering tribesmen in their long 

1 This name was, at the first, applied to the sin at Hephidim (Exodus 
xvii. 7), but was afterwards reserved to Kadesh. 



SECOND DEPARTURE FROM KADESH. 13 

pilgrimage. This idea is based upon a superficial view 
of Paul's words — ' They drank of a spiritual Rock that 
followed them ' (1 Corinthians x. 4). As now explained, 
the thirty -seven years stay of the Tabernacle at Kadesh 
renders such false exegesis impossible — the increased 
flow of water continuing for that time, and following 
its own law of gravitation. The limestone rock at 
Am Kadis became a type of Christ, and the source and 
constancy of its increased flow the point of the Apostle's 
argument with regard to it. 

5. As Aaron died immediately after the departure 
from Kadesh-Barnea on the first day of the fifth month 
of the fortieth year of exile, it is evident that but eight 
months elapsed between that event and the crossing of 
the Jordan on the tenth day of the following year 
(Joshua iv. 19). Of this period of eight months, one 
was spent on the plains of Moab mourning for the death 
of Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 8), and another at Mount Hor 
for the death of Aaron (Numbers xx. 29). The actual 
time spent in travelling from Kadesh, and in the conquest 
of Eastern Palestine, till the arrival at Jordan, could 
not have been more than six months. As the river 
was crossed four days before the holding of the passover 
in Spring, these were the months of Winter. 

It was thus early Autumn when the host finally 
moved from the wells of Kadesh on* its last journey. 
The direction taken was eastward, with a northern 
inclination. A single copyist's error in Numbers xxi. 4 
has lead to a prevalent belief that the promised land 



14 THE TABERNACLE. 

was reached by way of the Red Sea. We have but 
to read Salt Sea for 'Red' Sea in that verse, as in 
Deut. iii. 17, and the harmony of the whole narrative 
is restored. The change was possibly made to bring the 
text into accord with the same phrase in Deuteronomy 
(Deut. ii. 1). But in this case the reference is to the 
first departure from Kadesh, and is historically right. 
In the other the reference is to the second departure 
from Kadesh, when the route lay across the Arabah, 
south of the Dead Sea. 

There is but one broad valley of access that leads to 
the oasis of Zin, so that the Hebrew host, both in coming 
and going, had to travel by it. This valley runs from 
the east, and terminates at the foot of a singular and 
isolated peak, which they passed and re-passed. It is 
variously known in the text as : 

Moseroth, Numbers xxxiii. 30. 
1 Moserah, Deut. x. 6. 
Hor-haggidgad, Numbers xxxiii. 32. 
Mount Hor, Numbers xxxiii. 38. 

A comparison of these texts will show that the Hebrew 
host camped at the foot of this mountain on their first 
visit to Kadesh, and that they again pitched their tents 
there on their final departure from Kadesh. 

It was at this time that Aaron died, and to the fact of 
his burial there is to be attributed its change of name 
to Mount Hor, which name is equivalent to the Mount 

1 ' Moserah or Moseroth must be considered as equal to Mount Hor ' 
(Hastings' Dictionary, vol. i. p. 805). 



DEATH OF AAKOJST. 15 

of Mounts. Deut. x. 6 is definite in telling us that at 
Moserah Aaron died. 1 Within a march of Ain Kadis 
stands this remarkable and isolated hill, which bears the 
Arabic name of Jebel Moderah, and which the weight of 
evidence shows to have been the place of Aaron's death 
and burial. The similarity of name to Moserah will not 
escape notice. 

6. It was during the thirty days mourning for Aaron 
k that the King of Arad, living in the Negeb, showed signs 
of hostility to the Hebrew host, and captured some of the 
stragglers from the camp. These were probably herdsmen 
and shepherds in charge of grazing stock. 

The ruins of the city Arad are still to be seen on 
a white-crowned hill about sixteen miles south of Hebron, 
and are known as Tell Arad, Ain Kadis being about 
eighty miles from Hebron. The reason given for the 
offensive action of the king in the Negeb is, that he 
heard Israel was moving, from their long stay at Kadesh, 
* by the way of the spies' (marg. Numbers xxi. 1). 
Clearer testimony than this as to the direction taken by 
the host is hardly to be desired. The consequence of his 

1 The parenthesis of Dent. x. 6 and 7 not only breaks into Moses' 
narrative of events, but associates the first departure of the host from Kadesh, 
when it travelled to Ezion-Geber by way of Jotbathah (cf. Numbers xxxiii. 
33-34), with the second departure from Kadesh, when Aaron died. If 
verse 8 be read in immediate succession to verse 5, the sense will be clear, 
and the facts related in them will be seen in their true perspective. The 
Revised Version's inclusion of verses 8 and 9 within the parenthesis is 
misleading. Meanwhile the present readings of vv. 6-7 cannot be defended 
in their sequence. While both contain statements of historical truth, that of 
the latter verse is anterior to that of the former. 



16 THE TABERNACLE. 

action was a national resolution to carry out the ban 
of Deut. xx. 16-18, and to save nothing alive that 
breathed, if God gave victory. 

The struggle is very briefly described (Numbers xxi. 
1-3). The Canaanites were delivered up, and the place 
called Hormah (= devoted). This is not a proper name, 
but an appellative, signifying the total destruction to 
which every living thing was doomed within the town 
or district so described. We have a similar use of the 
word in the case of Zephath, a town destroyed by Judah 
after the death of Joshua (Judges i. 17). l The fury with 
which Arad was treated, as a place beyond the bounds 
of humanity and mercy, was a blow of sufficient severity 
to prevent further molestation, and the way to the Arabah 
lay open. It was, of course, the place of their defeat 
thirty-eight years before (Numb. xiv. 45 ; Deut. i. 44, 45). 

It was also during the stay at Mount Hor that 
messengers were sent to Petra, the capital of Edom, to 
request permission for the Hebrew host to pass through 
their territory. 

Thirty-eight years before, similar permission had been 
asked for and had been refused (Numbers xx. 14-21). 
The terms offered now were the same as then, that the 
travellers were to go upon the highway, and to pay for 
anything consumed by themselves or by their stock. 

1 By the time of David one of the two places was known by the name of 
Hormah, which had then superseded the Canaanite name (1 Samuel xxx. 30). 
Zephath is probably meant, as its name was officially changed to Hormah 
(Judges i. 17), and as such it was apportioned to the division of Simeon 
(Joshua xix. 4). Zephath, now Sebaita, is about 25 miles in a N.N.E. 
direction from Ain Kadis. 



THE EDOMITE ROUTE TAKEN. 17 

During these years many changes had taken place, and 
amongst others this, that a sense of the miraculous 
preservation and defence of the Hebrew host had penetrated 
the mind of the Edomite king and people. The consent 
now asked for was granted, being based upon the results 
which a refusal would have entailed. The congregation, 
therefore, prepared to leave Mount Hor and to enter the 
Edomite territory, a special order of care and warning 
being issued by Moses in anticipation of the march 
(Deut. ii. 2-8). This order contains two indications of 
the direction to be taken. One is in the words 'Turn 
you northward ' ; the other is a statement of the fact 
that, having passed through the Edomite territorjr, they 
travelled by the great road which, even then, ran 
northward from Ezion-Geber in the direction of Damascus. 

The fact of this concession from the children of Esau 
in Seir, having been so generally overlooked by writers 
dealing with this period of Hebrew history, is one which 
is the more remarkable as it is twice referred to, as 
a fact, in the second chapter of Deuteronomy. In verse 4 
we have it spoken of in anticipation, and in verse 29 
in retrospect. From the latter reference we learn that 
Moab acted in a somewhat similar way, 1 and that it 



1 The action of Moab is to be differentiated from that of Edom by the 
statement of Deut. xxiii. 4, that when the host came from Egypt they 
did not meet it with gifts of bread and with water in the way. The route 
travelled was not that of the great highway through Kir-of-Moab and Dibon, 
but they are described as pitching on the other side of Anion, which is in the 
wilderness (Numbers xxi. 23). Their stations are given as Beer, Mattanah, 
Nahaliel, and Bamoth. They thus kept away from Moab towards the east, 
and obeyed the injunction not to meddle with Moab. By this route they 



18 THE TABERNACLE. 

was not until the river Arnon was reached that fighting 
became necessary. 

7, The conclusion thus plainly stated as to the 
direction of the Exodus taken after leaving Kadesh 
Barnea is borne out by the particulars of the case, if 
the stations at which the Hebrews camped be examined. 
The earlier of these need only occupy our attention, as 
the distance across Seir, between Jebel Moderah and the 
Wady Hessi ( == the brook Zered), is not more than sixty 
miles, and four intermediate names only are given. Each 
of them represents a day's march, of about twelve miles. 

First Stage. 

Kadesh Barnea to Mount Hor. 

Second Stage. 

On leaving Mount Hor, the ' king's way ' of 
Numbers xx. 17 l would lead them at once to the 
descent into the valley or Ghor of Akabah. The 
watershed of the Akabah lies about midway between 
the two seas, and is rather more than 2,000 feet 
above the level of the Dead Sea. It is evident 
that any king's way passing from east to west 

found the rivers shallower and more easy of passage. After the passage 
of the Arnon they turned westward, and this brought them into conflict with 
the Amorites. In his endeavour to avoid this, Moses offered the King of 
Heshbon to buy food and water for money, as he had done from Edom 
and from Moab. This was refused. Till this time there were both sales 
and gifts. 

1 This will have been the old Babylonian highway, Gen. xiv. 6, 7. 



EARLY STAGES. 19 

would go as nearly as possible over the saddle of 
the Akabah. As, however, no water is to be found 
there, it would deflect a little either to south or 
north, so as to secure for travellers this necessary 
element. To the north of the watershed flows 
a perennial stream, named El-Jeib, in a valley 
which widens out from a width of half-a-mile to 
a breadth of ten miles. Twenty-four miles south 
of the Dead Sea, and at the level of the Medi- 
terranean (1,292 feet above the Dead Sea), are some 
remarkable lacustrine terraces of marl, sand, and 
gravel, with abundant water flowing below them, 
lined with thickets of palm, tamarisk, willow, and 
reeds. 

As the first station at which the host encamped 
was named Zalmonah ( = terraces or shady places), 
it is possible that it was on these, or similar terraces 
further west, that the camp was pitched. The 
name itself is evidence that the Tabernacle and its 
attendants were travelling a road which lay in 
terraces one above another. 

Third Stage. 

The next station was named Punon ( = ore-pits), 
and is to be sought on the eastern side of the 
Ghor, and north of the city of Petra (Numbers 
xxiv. 19). 

In the required position, east-of-south of the 
Dead Sea, is a site named Phanon, where were 
copper -mines mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome. 



20 THE TABERNACLE. 

They lie in 'parched places in the wilderness, a salt 
land and not inhabited ' (Jeremiah xvii. 6). 

Hence we read that the soul of the people was 
much discouraged because of the way (Numbers 
xxi. 4), for there was neither bread nor water. As 
from this station they are said to have pitched in 
Oboth, it was appropriately here that the brasen 
serpent was made and uplifted (compare Numbers 
xxi. 10 and xxxiii. 43). The tract they followed 
was naturally one of ascent from the valley of the 
Ghor, which made the want of water the more felt. 
It does not appear that their sufferings from thirst 
were in any way mitigated. 

Fourth Stage. 

The king's way, in which Moses promised to 
travel, was almost certainly one which led from the 
west to the site of the capital, afterwards Petra. It 
was one which the advancing host, on its way to 
the ford of the Zered, would have to abandon after 
crossing the Ghor. The want of a beaten track would 
greatly increase the difficulties of travel, as well as 
take them through a waterless country. We find 
accordingly, that the next place of encampment was 
one which had no recognised name. There was again 
no water for the famished herds, and the thousands 
of travellers were wholly dependent on their water- 
skins. Little wonder that they called this place 
Oboth ( = water - skins), and that it remained 
a memory of great sufferings endured both by man 
and beast. 



PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN. 21 

Fifth Stage. 

The fourth intermediate station, which took them 
to what is now the great Haj road, was variously 
named Iye-abarim (= the passages of the Hebrews) 
and Izim (Numbers xxi. 1J and xxxiii. 45). It lay 
a march south of the Wady Sessi, which by its name 
Zered is known to have been the boundary between 
Edom and Moab. A village, Ime, may still be found 
on the main road a few miles south of Zered. Here, 
doubtless, the overjoyed host saw the end of their 
sufferings, as they were now again in the track of 
caravans, and would go from water to water. We 
do not hear of any further hardships from this source. 

Sixth Stage. 

This was from the Passages of the Hebrews to the 
tributaries of the brook Zered, and the remainder 
of their journey to the plains of Moab is too well 
known to require recapitulation. 

8. During all the travel in the wilderness and across 
the Arabah, south of the Dead Sea, the Ark of the 
Covenant had preceded the hosts of the Lord (Numbers x. 
33) ; and not until it came to the banks of the Jordan was 
the order given that a space of 1,000 yards, or 2,000 cubits, 
was to intervene between the priests who bore it and the 
crowds of men, women, and children who followed. 

The crossing took place on the 10th day of Nisan or 
Abib (== April), and four days afterwards the passover 
of the fortieth year was held (Joshua iv. 10, 14). The 



22 THE TABEBNACLE. 

parenthesis of Joshua iii. 15 is thus to be understood in 
the sense of the waters being low at the time of crossing, 
as it was only in Summer, when the snows of Hermon 
were melting, that its banks overflowed. 

Having crossed the Jordan, the host under Joshua 
found itself in a new, unknown, and hostile land, with no 
cloud of light to guide it. 

The first consideration was to find a place on which to 
pitch the sacred tent — a place which was undefiled by 
death, for ' whosoever in the open field toucheth one that 
is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, 
or a grave, shall be unclean' (Numbers xix. 16). It was 
therefore necessary to alight upon some spot which should 
have been uninhabited of man, and of which the soil 
should have been undisturbed. Such a spot was found 
4J miles west of the Jordan, and 1-*- miles east of Jericho 
(= Tell Jiljulieh). Here the twelve stones, brought from 
the bed of the Jordan, were erected, not in a megalithic 
circle of a few yards in diameter, but as twelve boundary- 
stones marking out the circle (=the Gilgal), of which 
the camp was to consist. Within these limits was the 
'clean place' (Lev. x. 14), within which the sacrifices 
might be eaten. 1 On the site described as Jiljulieh are 
still some twenty-five mounds scattered irregularly over 
an area one-third of a mile wide. 

Here, then, the Tabernacle was erected, and here it 
remained till the land had rest from war (Joshua xi. 23). 

1 ' In the East, at the present time, a sanctity is attached to the spot from 
which any holy place is visible.' Quoted by the late George Grove, in 
Smith's Dictionary, vol. ii. p. 388, n. h. 



THE TABERNACLE AT GILGAL. 23 

This was a period of at least seven years from the first 
occupation of Gilgal, as we know from the plea of Caleb 
the son of Jephunneh, who was 40 years old at the spying 
of the land and 85 at the time of his request, 38 of the 
intervening 45 years having been spent in the wilderness 
(Joshua xiv. 7-10). But Gilgal, as a once sacred spot, 
did not lose its sanctity while the kingdoms of Israel 
lasted, as is shown in the prophecies of Hosea and Amos. 

9. The site of Gilgal was within the territory allotted 
to Benjamin, but it is not named as one of its cities, 
for the reason already given of its having been 
uninhabited. While the camp stood at Gilgal the all- 
important question arose as to the choosing of a site 
for the permanent location of the Tabernacle. No more 
deeply engrossing matter could have been debated, as 
any new site would necessarily become the spiritual 
capital of the twelve tribes. Unless counselled by the 
Urim and Thummim (Deut. xxxiii. 8), we may be sure 
there were those who advocated its retention at Gilgal. 
And when, possibly by divine appointment, a change 
was decided upon, the mutual jealousy of the tribes had 
to be met and overcome. The tribe of Ephraim had 
already shown signs of that autocratic spirit (Joshua xvii. 
14-18) which ultimately led to the disruption of the 
Kingdom. As the heirs of Joseph's birthright, they 
claimed, from the first, pre-eminence in Israel, and to 
their territory it was determined to remove the tent. 

This decision was based on military considerations as 
well as on ecclesiastical and civil ones. Seven years of 



24 THE TABERNACLE. 

-constant war had shown the Hebrews that their most 
formidable foes were the Philistines of the sea-coast. 
These remained unsubdued, and it was thought advisable 
to place the sanctuary of God on the eastern side of 
the terrain, and amid its largest and one of its most 
warlike tribes. Not only was this done, but the 
aristocratic Kohathites had their ten cities in the 
contiguous tribes of Ephraim, West Manasseh, and Dan. 
The Kohathites, like the other Levites, were enrolled for 
war at twenty years of age. 

Further, the choice of a site was influenced by the 
fact that every adult male was required to attend the 
Tabernacle service at each of the three annual festivals. 
These included the two and a half tribes beyond the 
Jordan. If a glance at a map of the tribes be taken 
it will be seen that the site of Shiloh is about midway 
between Dan and Beersheba, and midway between 
Mount Gilead and Joppa. 

The situation was not ill-chosen for the purposes of 
a contemplative faith, as well as for security in time of 
strife. No building had by any possibility brought 
death and desecration to the spot. Like Gilgal, it was 
virgin soil, as the choice of a name, taken from the 
blessing of Jacob, showed. The situation selected for 
the house of God is minutely given (Judges xxi. 19). 
It was north of Bethel (twelve miles), south - east of 
Lebonah ( = Lnbban, three miles), and four miles to the 
east of the great highway which then ran, and still 
runs, from Bethel to Shechem. 

The distance of Shiloh from Gilgal is less than twenty 



REMOVED TO SHILOH. 25 

miles, and over these miles the Tabernacle and all its 
furniture was removed during the lifetime of Joshua. 
The now deserted site of Seilun not impossibly presents 
much the same appearance as it did then. There are 
a few ruins and some reek-hewn sepulchres. The last 
lie outside the Taanath-Shiloh ( = the circle of Shiloh, 
Joshua xvi. 6), which corresponded to the circle of Gilgal, 
and was formed by a complete circle of hills which 
surrounds the soft eminence where once stood the 
Tabernacle. Stanley characterizes the landscape as 
'featureless/ and as being neither beautiful nor grand. 
So be it. Its glory was other than of earth. Through 
the two passages in the hills around, the thousands of 
Israel poured, amid scenes of joyousness and gaiety, for 
two or three centuries (Judges xi. 26). One of these 
rocky gates leads to the plain on the south, and to the 
great highway ; the other, in the east, to the fountain, 
where the daughters of Shiloh gathered, then, as now, to 
draw water. Robinson pronounces this water to be of 
excellent quality. Like all other springs in the Holy 
Land, its volume has much decreased, owing to the 
deforesting of the country, though it is still abundant. 
Being a new creation, Shiloh was neither a priestly nor 
a levitical city, and is not named as one of the towns of 
Ephraim, though the southern border of the country of 
Ephraim ran south of the circle of hills in which the 
basin of Shiloh stood. No events of striking national 
importance took place there while the Tabernacle stood. 
It was not intended that they should do so. It was 
thought enough that the sacrifices were offered and the 



26 THE TABERNACLE. 

ritual of the Law observed. The fervour of earlier" years, 
' When thou wentest after me in the wilderness/ was 
lost, and there must have been some great ecclesiastical 
convulsion by which the High-priesthood was transferred 
from the elder branch of the house of Aaron to the 
younger. Of this the history says nothing. It records, 
in later books, the names of certain High-priests of the 
time of Joshua and the Judges. But these are only 
a selection, as between Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, 
and the time of the prophet Samuel, a period of two 
centuries, the chronicler has preserved five names only 
(1 Chron. vi. 4-7, 50-53). Even these are not given in 
the histories of the time, and we derive them from post- 
Captivity documents. A fact such as this is one of evil 
omen for the characters of the men themselves. The 
Book of Judges, itself a record of heroes and heroic deeds 
for God, contains the name of no head of the Tabernacle 
worship, and no reference to the Tabernacle, if we except 
the rather scornful advice to the Benjamites to abduct 
two hundred daughters of Shiloh at the yearly passover- 
feast of the Lord, the two other feasts being apparently 
neglected. The age was one of disorganization, when 
every man did that which was right in his own eyes, and 
the power of law was lost. There is positive evidence to 
the same effect in the words, After the death of Joshua 
' there arose another generation, which knew not the Lord, 
nor yet the work that He had wrought for Israel ' 
(Judges ii. 10). 

The Tabernacle daily services were doubtless observed 
after a perfunctory manner, but they would seem to have 



DECAY OF FAITH. 27 

had little effect upon the people, either to soften their 
manners or to raise their morals. The two gloomy 
appendices to the Book of Judges in chapters xvii., 
xviii., and xix.-xxi. are intended to set forth this aspect 
of the nation's character. 

The nation was in imminent danger of apostacy from 
Jehovah. Sudden and unearned prosperity had fallen 
upon it, and they loved the creature more than the 
Creator — the gift more than the Giver. For its 
unfaithfulness the priesthood was changed, and when 
Samuel appears upon the scene, as a little lad, we find 
Eli, of the house of Ithamar, judging Israel. 

10. Samuel was still a young man, when the 
accumulated wrath of offended Deity fell, in one heavy 
blow, upon both priest and people. War with the 
Philistines had broken out; an expression used by the 
conquerors, ' Be not servants to the Hebrews as they 
have been to you/ shows that the war was in the nature 
of a revolt, and had been preceded by some years of 
tribute and slavery on the part of the Israelites. The 
oppression having become intolerable, it was determined, 
by a combined effort of all the tribes, to throw off the 
Philistine yoke. 

An army of thirty thousand footmen 1 (1 Samuel iv. 10) 
assembled at a spot near Beth-Shemesh, afterwards named 
Ebenezer. The Philistines had their camp in Aphek. 
This word is not here a proper name, as it has the definite 

1 These are the numbers of the text, but, like others, are given here as being 
subject to future correction. 



28 THE TABERNACLE. 

article prefixed to it, i.e. the Aphek (=the aqueduct), 
the watercourse of the Wady Gh&r&b, the valley above 
Beth-Shemesh, being intended. At the first engagement 
the Hebrews lost about 4,000 men, and the honours of war 
were with the enemy. A decisive battle now became 
imminent, and it was felt that nothing should be left 
undone to secure the nation's freedom. At a council of 
war held before the fight, the unprecedented proposal was 
made to fetch the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh — 
30 miles distant. It came, and with it the two sons 
of Eli, who were its guardians. The proximity of the 
hostile camps is indicated by the fact that the Philistines 
heard the shouting which welcomed its arrival in camp. 

The plain of S&rar, still beautiful and fertile, was the 
probable scene of the previous engagement and of the 
one about to follow. The misplaced confidence of 
the Israelites is embodied in the words, ' It shall save 
us out of the hand of our enemies. ' It was no longer 
Jehovah, but the material ark that was the hope of the 
tribesmen and their Elders. So low had fallen the faith 
of Abraham's sons ! To this act of national apostacy 
Eli must have been an acquiescent party. He was the 
High-priest, and without his permission the ark could not 
have been removed from Shiloh. 

In what might be called the Battle of Beth-Shemesh 
the revolt was extinguished in blood. The ark was 
captured, Hophni and Phinehas dying in its defence. 
All organized resistance was broken down. Every 
Israelite fled to his tent, and the country was at the 
mercy of the invaders. Over what followed the Hebrew 



FALL OF SHILOH. 29 

historians draw a veil of silence. Shiloh is not mentioned, 
except as the place of Eli's death. Yet it is certain that 
it fell into the hands of the Philistines, and long centuries 
afterwards the prophet Jeremiah appealed to the voice 
of history to declare that this destruction was ' for the 
wickedness of My people Israel' (Jeremiah vii. 12). The 
fullest account of the shame, disgrace, and misery that 
followed on the sack of the little city within the limits of 
Ephraim, is contained in one of the Psalms of Asaph : — 

' The children of Ephraim, carrying slack bows [EwalcT], 

Turned back in the day of battle 

They provoked Him to anger with their high places, 

And moved Him to jealousy with their graven images. 

"When God heard this, He was wroth, 

And greatly abhorred Israel : 

So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, 

The tent which He placed among men ; 

And delivered His strength into captivity, 

And His glory into the adversary's hand. 

He gave His people over also unto the sword ; 

And was wroth with His inheritance. 

Fire devoured their young men ; 

And their maidens had no marriage-song. 

Their priests fell by the sword ; 

And their widows made no lamentation.' 

(Psalm lxxviii. 9, 58-64.) 

11. In the presence of this patriotic reticence, it is 
impossible to say, from the evidence of the contemporary 
records, whether the sacred tent fell into the hands of 



30 THE TABERNACLE. 

the Philistines. It is probable that it did not do so, 
but that immediately on the receipt of the news that 
caused Eli's death those who were in charge of it, 
hastily folding it together, moved it away. This would 
be done in the absence of the Ark of the Covenant (its 
most precious deposit), and by the direction of Samuel, 
as the sole remaining authority in Shiloh. 

Soon the Philistine hosts would be on the spot, and 
the sack of the town ensued. "No element of savage 
atrocity would seem to have been wanting to the occasion. 
Fired with fanatical hatred, stimulated by the possession 
of the ark, the conquering horde carried fire and sword 
through the little settlement, and razed Shiloh to 
a desolation from which it has never recovered. 

Among those who escaped were Samuel and Ahitub, 
the latter the youthful son of Phinehas, and grandson 
of Eli (1 Samuel xiv. 3). The wreck of all the hopes 
and associations which clustered around the Tabernacle 
placed Samuel in a position of great responsibility and 
power. His word had already come to all Israel, and 
in the failure of the High-priestly power, whatever of 
law and of guidance remained was held by him. 

His first act would seem to have been to re-erect the 
Tabernacle at Grilgal. It was here that, many years 
afterwards, he appointed Saul to meet him, in order to 
offer the burnt - offerings and peace-offerings of his 
consecration and coronation — sacrifices which could only 
be offered on the brasen altar before the Tabernacle. 
That this altar was that constructed by Bezalel, and that 
the tent which later stood in Gibeon was that made 



RETURNED TO GILGAL. 31 

by Moses, is affirmed in the text of 2 Chron. i. 3, 5. 
They could not, therefore, have fallen into Philistine 
hands at Shiloh. 

The re - erected Tabernacle, in its old place in the 
plains of Jericho, stood there for many years. The 
note of time in 1 Samuel vii. 2 cannot be taken to 
refer to this, as the years there mentioned do not represent 
the time the ark was at Kirjath - Jearim, that time 
including the periods of Samuel's, Saul's, and part of 
David's reigns. They were rather the ' twenty years ' 
in which the national spirit was gradually adjusting 
itself to the true relations which had formerly been 
established between Jehovah and His people. Under 
the wise and gracious rule of Samuel the house of 
Israel was drawn together after the Lord (margin, 
1 Samuel vii. 2). Sorrow and suffering had effectually 
done their work, and the people were now willing to 
be guided into the heartfelt monotheistic worship on 
which their deliverance depended. When all was ready, 
and a spirit of humble trustfulness was seen to have 
penetrated the assembly, Samuel called a national 
convention at Mizpah, one of the three centres from 
which he judged Israel. The Mizpah here referred to 
is that mentioned in Joshua xviii. 25 as one of the cities 
of Benjamin, and is that now known as Neby Samtvil, 
five miles north of Jerusalem. 

Here they were speedily attacked by their overlords 
the Philistines. As at Rephidim the intercession of 
Moses gained victory over the Amalekites, so here the 
prayers of Samuel prevailed. A great storm discomfited 



32 THE TABERNACLE. 

the Philistines, and they were chased by the men from 
Mizpah till they came unto Beth - Car ( = home of 
pasture), where probably their base-camp lay. 

So critical an authority as Professor Gf. A. Smith 
places Beth-Car at Ain Karim, four miles south - west 
of Jerusalem, where is a famous spring. The pursuit 
thus covered eight or nine miles, and the power of 
Philistia was broken. Doubtless some thousands of the 
enemy were slain, but of these particulars we are told 
nothing. What we are told is, however, of fuller 
significance. It is that the victorious army went to 
the scene of their former defeat, between Beth-Shemesh 
and Kirjath-Jearim, and there, on the very spot where 
the ark had fallen into the hands of its foes, they 
selected a great stone, already consecrated by sacrifice 
(1 Samuel vi. 15), which they called Ebenezer (= stone 
of help), and which, after the example of Jacob at 
Bethel, was anointed with oil. This was done in the 
spirit of humble gratitude, and as an acknowledgment 
that the event there celebrated, however dark it seemed 
at the time, was in reality the turning - point of the 
national fortunes, and the * help ' that Israel needed. 
Thus did they kiss the rod with which they had been 
smitten. No other action could have been so expressive 
of the change which had passed over the people in the 
intervening years. 

The stone so set up is described as being 'between 
Mizpah and Shen/ This Mizpah (= watch-tower) is that 
mentioned as one of the cities of Judah in Joshua xv. 38, 
and is represented by the Arab village of Deir el-Haica, 



DEFEAT OF THE PHILISTINES. 33 

placed on the summit of a mountain south of the Wady 
Ismail. It is less than four miles east of Beth-Shemesh 
(here abbreviated to Shen). Midway between the two 
places is Deir Abdn, a large village, in which stands 
a great rock bearing the name of Deir Eban ( = Convent 
of the Rock). Previous to its consecration as a national 
memorial, it is mentioned as the great stone in the 
field of Joshua the Beth-Shemite, beside which the ark 
stayed when it returned from the Philistine cities 
(1 Samuel vi. 14). We are thus to understand the 
expression ' Samuel took a stone and set it ' (1 Samuel 
vii. 12) in the sense of selection and appropriation, and 
not of actual elevation. 

12. This act of public contrition was the turning-point 
of the national fortunes. During the lifetime of Samuel 
the Philistines came no more into the border of Israel. 

The ark remained at Kirjath-Jearim, four miles east 
of Beth-Shemesh. The Tabernacle was at Gilgal, but 
without any officiating High-priest, Ahitub being under 
the ban pronounced on Eli's family. He was perhaps 
15 years of age at the time Shiloh fell, 1 and, with his 
brother Ichabod, was the sole representative of the house 
of Ithamar. Samuel did not dare to recall to office the 
family of Eleazar, and yet the sanctuary of God could 
not be neglected. He himself was a Levite. In this 
emergency a son of Amariah, of the rejected family of 

1 The mention of his son Ahijah, as being in the camp of Saul soon after 
his assumption of rule, is an indication of the length of Samuel's judgeship 
(1 Samuel xiv. 3). 



34 THE TABERNACLE. 

Eleazar, was called upon to act, not as High-priest, but 
as ' Ruler of the House of God.' His name was Ahitub, 
as was that of Eli's grandson, and he appears with this 
name and designation in 1 Chron. ix. 11, and Nehemiah 
xi. 11. He was the grandfather of Zadok, in whose 
person the family of Eleazar was restored to office. 

How far the Tabernacle services at Grilgal conformed 
to the ritual of the law we may best judge by concluding 
that the duties of the High-priest remained in abeyance, 
but that the levitical and priestly duties were regularly 
performed under the direction of the ruler of the House 
of God. 1 Such were the maimed rites of Jahvism which 
followed the destruction of Shiloh. 



1 In later times we find that Azariah Y. was High-priest in the reign of 
Hezekiah (2 Chron. xxxi. 10), and also 'ruler of the House of God' 
(verse 13). As such he co-operated with Hezekiah in appointing certain men 
to he over the storehouses of dedicated things. It would appear that the two 
offices were distinct, hut might he held hy the same person. In the history 
of Jeremiah (xx. 1) there is mention of a certain priest named Pashhur, who 
was ' chief officer in the house of the Lord.' "We have here an instance 
of the same or a similar office heing held hy a man who was neither High- 
priest nor the son of a High -priest, as he belonged to the course of Immer. 
If the two offices were the same, this was an irregularity, owing to the 
disorganized state of public affairs. 



ii 



35 



CHAPTER II. 
TO THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 

HP HE Tabernacle being re-erected at Gilgal, and the 
-*- Ebenezer rock being consecrated as a memorial, 
the Twelve Tribes entered upon a career of peaceful 
development. Samuel was the one man to whom the 
whole nation looked. As a Levite he had no special 
duties in the House of God. The courts held at its 
East Gate were principally for the settlement of cases 
of ceremonial purity, and were presided over by Levites 
and priests. There were, however, many other ' hard 
cases' of civil and criminal law, corresponding to those 
brought before Moses by the advice of his father-in-law 
(Exodus xviii.). l These were appropriately brought 
before Samuel, who, like Moses, was a Kohathite Levite. 
These courts were not always held at Gilgal, but at 
Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, to each of which places an 
annual visit was paid. The selection of two centres for 
the administration of justice other than that at which 

1 The difficulty as to the names in this family may be met by adopting 
Ewald's suggestion that ( Jethro ' signifies prefect, and was a title held by 
Reuel, who was the father of Hobab (Numbers x. 29). In this way Hobab 
would be the brother-in-law of Moses, as is stated in Judges iv. 11, and 
Moses the son-in-law of Jethro, as written in Exodus iii. 1. Jethro returned 
to his own land (Exodus xviii. 27), but Hobab accompanied the host 
(Judges iv. 11 ; 1 Sam. xv. 6). Later scholarship suggests that both were the 
Arabian names of Moses' father-in-law. 



36 THE TABERNACLE. 

the Tabernacle stood, was in itself a new departure in 
the history of Hebrew jurisprudence, which could only 
have been justified by the revelation of the Urim and 
Thuinmim, as declaring the will of God. Bethel was, 
however, associated with the vision of God given to 
Jacob, and Mizpah with the remarkable interposition 
which had so lately given liberty to the nation. To 
the Hebrew any spot at which Jehovah had manifested 
Himself became, by that act, for ever sacred. It may 
thus have been thought that the sanctity of these two 
places was equal to that of Gilgal, where the Captain of 
the Lord's host had appeared to Joshua (Joshua v. 13-15). 

1. As the years passed, and Samuel grew feebler, he 
made his two sons judges over Israel. A name has 
probably dropped out of the Hebrew text of 1 Samuel 
viii. 2, as it is hardly likely that both judges should 
have been stationed in far-south Beersheba. Josephus* 
paraphrase of the history has retained the second name, 
which is Bethel (Antiquities, vi. 3, § 2). 

While doing this Samuel took a step far in advance 
of anything yet done in the way of liberalizing and 
delocalizing the institutions of Mosaism. It was nothing 
less than the building of an altar at his own home in 
Raman, which he felt less and less able to leave. This 
was the less revolutionary as there was no ark at Gilgal 
before which to burn incense. 

There were many Ramahs ( = heights) in the land. 
Nearly every division of the tribes had a place so named. 
Among these were — 



SAMUEL'S LAST DAYS. 37 

(1) Ramah of Benjamin (Joshua xviii. 25). 

(2) Raman of Ephraini (Judges iv. 5). 

(3) Ramah of Naphtali (Joshua xix. 36). 

(4) Ramah of Asher (Joshua xix. 29). 

(5) Ramah (or Ramoth) of Gad (2 Kings viii. 28-29). 

(6) Remeth (Joshua xix. 21) or Ramoth of Issachar 

(1 Chron. vi. 73). 

It would be in harmony with these examples that in 
the hill country of Judah there should be a spot so 
named, the distinction between Gibeah, a hill, and 
Ramah, a height, being, that an isolated hill might 
be found on comparatively low - lying ground, but 
a Ramah is to be sought for only on elevated land. 

In the 115 place-names given in the Book of 
Joshua as belonging to the division of Judah, the 
name of Ramah does not occur — except as a descriptive 
or alternative name for Baalath-beer (Joshua xix. 8), 
where it is distinguished from all other Ramahs as 
Ramah of the Negeb. This, however, would not 
prevent the name being given to a suitable spot 
which was colonised or inhabited after the conquest. 
Such would seem to have been the history of the 
Ramah in which Samuel was born, and where he died 
and was buried, as it probably was of some of the other 
Ramahs, several of which are unmentioned by Joshua. 

2. Two and a half miles north of Hebron, the road 
to the north, having crossed the plain of Mamre, climbs 



38 THE TABERNACLE. 

a gentle ascent of three hundred feet. That gained, the 
traveller finds himself in the saddle of an old Roman 
road, still roughly paved, with a slight hilly projection 
on either side. That to the left is 3,340 feet and that to 
the right 3,370 feet above the level of the Mediterranean. 
These are the two Ramans contained in the plural word 
Ramathaim. Robinson found the name Ramah still in 
use here, disguised in the Arabic er-Rameh. 

From this point the northern horizon falls gradually 
away, till at Jerusalem it is nearly a thousand feet lower 
(= 2,593 feet). To the south a similar decline is per- 
ceptible, and with the exception of the hill on which 
Jutta stands (3,747 feet), the altitude of these twin 
heights is not attained within 100 miles west of the 
Jordan. 

Through a cleft in the hills the waters of the blue 
Mediterranean are seen. Within an hour's walk of this 
Ramah is the ancient city where the three Patriarchs and 
their wives, except Rachel, were buried. Around these 
tombs sprang up the city of Kirjath-Arba, after its 
conquest called Hebron (= association). 

Josephus says that it was the oldest city in Palestine, 
and it was visited by the spies sent by Moses to inspect the 
land (Numbers xiii. 22). It was taken by Joshua (Joshua 
xiv. 12 and xv. 14), and owing to its great reputation, 
as the last resting-place of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 
special provision was made for its security. It was made 
a city of refuge, and given, with its suburbs, as a residence 
for the priests and the Kohathite Levites (Joshua xxi. 
10-13), being the only city thus jointly occupied. The 



SAMUEL'S ALTAR AT RAMAH. 39 

suburbs, forming a circle around the city of one or two 
thousand cubits (= 500 to 1,000 yards), (Numbers xxxv. 
4-5), 1 were given to the clergy. The fields of the city 
and its villages were given to Caleb. There can be no 
doubt that this was done, so as to doubly and trebly 
secure the sepulchres of the ancestors of the race. 

It is impossible to do more than to establish in a general 
way a connection between the Kohathite settlement in and 
around Hebron, and similar settlements in the division 
of Ephraim, of which there were four (Joshua xxi. 
21-22). Of these the principal was Shechem, described 
as being in the hill country of Ephraim, which, like 
Hebron, was one of the three cities of refuge on the west 
of Jordan. 

3. There were twenty generations from Jacob to Samuel 
(1 Chron. vi. 33-38). Some time during the period 
of the Judges, Zuph or Zophai, an Ephrainiite Levite of 
the sons of Kohath, migrated from the northern to the 
southern settlement of his clan. He settled on the then 
bare and stony highland to the north of Hebron, which 
from his occupation of it came to be known as the Land 
of Zuph, or Ramathaim-Zophim (= double high-place 
of Zuph), (1 Samuel i. 1 and ix. 5). 

1 A distinction was made between walled and unwalled cities. In the 
case of the former the suburbs or pasture-fields were to be 1,000 cubits from 
the wall of the city round about. In the smaller and unwalled villages, the 
' suburbs ' were to be 2,000 cubits on every side, measured from some central 
point in the hamlet, around which the houses were grouped. Disputes would 
thus be of rare occurrence. These Levitical pasture-fields were inalienable 
(Lev. xxv. 34). 



40 THE TABERNACLE. 

His descendants in the direct line are given in 1 Samuel 
and 1 Chronicles in the following genealogies : — 

1 Samuel i. 1. 1 Chronicles vi. 34. 



Zuph. Zuph or Zophai (v. 26). 

I I 

Tohu. Toah or Nahath (v. 26). 

Efflm. Eliel or Eliab (v. 26). 

Jeroham. Jeroham. 

Elkanah. Elkanah. 

Samuel. Samuel. 



It would thus seem that the migration took place five 
generations, or less than two centuries, before the birth of 
Samuel. His childhood was spent at Shiloh, but as the 
meridian of life passed, and its main activities were left 
behind, he retired to the city of his fathers, 'for there 
was his house.' 

Here 'he judged Israel.' But he did more. 'He 
built there an altar unto the Lord' (1 Samuel vii. 17). 
In doing this Samuel followed the example of Abraham, 
and did not deem that he was contravening the law 
against the building of private and unauthorized altars. 

The erection of this altar, on one of the high-places 
of the land, did not involve the duplication of the 
Tabernacle, or any part of it. "What it did involve was 
that the altar should stand within an enclosed space, to 
correspond with the outer or eastern court of the 
Tabernacle. Also that provision should be made for the 
sacrifice of animals by duly ordained priests and Levites. 



THE FUNCTIONS OF SACRIFICE. 41 

As parts of every burnt-offering were washed, and the 
officiating priests required frequent ablutions, every altar 
of Jahvism required an abundant supply of water. These 
were the prime necessities of the case, when once the 
erection had been decided on. 

As the laws of Moses, administered by Samuel, comprised 
an ecclesiastical, a civil, and a criminal code, and, in 
many cases, required that restitution should be made 
both to the complainant and to the ordinances of religion, 
an altar, where such sacrifices and sin-offerings could be 
received, became a necessity of every supreme court of 
justice. 

The object and application of law amongst the Hebrews 
was not solely to secure that even-handed justice should 
obtain between man and man, but also that every 
transgressor should be purged of his sin by sacrifice ; 
and, by penitence and prayer, should obtain the Divine 
forgiveness. 

In the case of minor courts, one of which was held in 
every Levitical city and town, the convicted defendants 
were sent to the central sanctuary to attain these ends. 
A general clause to cover all such cases was that of the 
national sacrifices, constantly offered, and of the institution 
of a great day of Atonement for the whole nation. 

Samuel, not unwisely, judged that by the erection of 
an altar, near to himself as the fountain of justice, he 
would be forwarding the best interests of his people and 
of true religion amongst them. 

The existence of this altar, a few miles from Hebron, 
was without doubt a chief cause of David's choosing 



42 THE TABERNACLE. 

Hebron as the capital city of his kingdom, till the 
conquest of Jerusalem. With his departure it was 
probably removed, the enclosure-walls remaining. These 
would remain undisturbed during the whole period of 
Jewish national life, as having once been employed in the 
worship of Jehovah. Their partial removal would thus 
date from times subsequent to the fall of Jerusalem under 
Titus. The tradition of some unusual sanctity still 
survives amongst the peasantry of the neighbourhood, 
who name this ruin Edmet el-K/iulil, the hill of the 
Friend, i.e. Abraham. 

4. Dr. Edward Eobinson twice visited er-IZameh, at 
an interval of fourteen years. His first account, written 
in April, 1838, contains the following description : — 

' At one hour from Hebron, a blind path went off to the 
right, at right angles, leading to Tekoa ; and on it, almost five 
minutes walk from our road, are the foundations of an immense 
building, which excited our curiosity. We found the 
substructions of an edifice, which would seem to have been 
commenced, but never completed. They consist of two walls, 
apparently of a large enclosure, one facing toward the south- 
west, two hundred feet long; and the other, at right angles, 
facing north-west, one hundred and sixty feet long, with a 
space left in the middle of it, as if for a portal. There are 
only two courses of hewn stones above ground, each 3 feet 
4 inches high; one of the stones measured 15^ feet long by 
3 feet thick. In the south-west angle is a well or cistern 
arched over, but not deep. There are no stones or ruins of any 
kind lying around, to mark that the walls were ever carried 

higher The spot is called by the Arabs Rdmet 

el-KhuliV {Biblical Researches, vol. i. p. 215). 



BA31ET EL-KHULIL. 43 

Iu May, 1852, Dr. Robinson again visited the spot, 
approaching it from the north, and wrote as follows : — 

'Rising gradually, we turned at 4.15 to the left at a right 
angle ; and came, in seven minutes, across the fields, to the 
immense foundations we had formerly visited. . . . Those 
inexplicable walls remain as when we saw them in 1838, 
except that the covering to the well was gone. This well 
is of large circumference, and about 10 feet deep to the surface 
of the water. It is said to be strictly a fountain. The course 
of the longest wall is south, 80° east. 

' The foundations are regarded by the common people as 
belonging to the ruins of er-Rdmeh, which cover the hill to the 
north, and extend down to this spot. 

( We now turned up the hill er-Rdmeh, and reached the top 
in six minutes. Here and on the slope are the remains of 
a large village. The ground all the way is strewn with ruins of 
dwellings covering some acres, with hewn stones among them. 
There is on the top a cistern excavated in the rock. . . . 

1 In respect to the immense walls, which form the most 
imposing feature of the place, I find as yet no satisfactory 
explanation. . . . 

' They exhibit none of the tokens of ecclesiastical architecture, 
and do not of themselves suggest a church. . . . 

'We left er-Rdmeh at 4.45, descending the hill toward the 
north. At the foot was an excavated cistern, now dry, with 
steps to descend into it ' (Biblical Researches, vol. iii. pp. 278-281). 

In furtherance of the suggestion that we have in 
these walls, lying below the ancient town, the remains 
of an enclosure built by Samuel around an altar, I may 
remark : — 

(a) The measurements coincide with those of the 
ancient cubit. The stones of the walls are given as 
40 inches in thickness, or 3| feet. This was three 



44 THE TABEENACLE. 

building cubits of 1| feet = 3f feet. The walls were thus 
six cubits high, the curtains of the tabernacle enclosure 
being five. 

(b) The two remaining walls are in length 160 and 
200 feet respectively. 1 These are outside measurements. 
Hebrew surface measures are uniformly interior measures, 
taken with the large cubit. We may thus conclude 
that, as at Sinai, the space enclosed for the worship of 
the people around the altar was a square. This would 
be a square of 100 cubits ( = 150 feet), whereas that was 
a square of 50 cubits. 

The precedent would doubtless be followed of a portion 
of the altar-platform being placed to the west of the 
altar, adjoining which was a laver with water. To these 
purposes 30 cubits (= 45 feet) would seem to have been 
allocated, though it may have been one-third the length 
of the eastern court, or 33J cubits (= 50 feet). 

(c) The enclosed spring and cistern within the enclosure 
lie in the south-west angle. This is in the true position 
for sacrificial purposes, as, in the Temples of the Jews, 
the water supply was always placed on the western side 
near the north gate. 

(d) The corrected course taken by the longer wall is 
within four degrees of due east. As, however, the sun 
apparently rose southward in the latitude of Ramah, and no 
scientific instruments were in use, the error in orientation 
would thus arise. 



1 According to Sir Charles "Warren, 200 by 165 feet. If the thickness of 
the walls be added, the measurements will be 218| x 164f feet. 



THE RAMET ENCLOSUEE. 45 

The walls were so built as that worshippers standing 
within them should have their backs to the rising sun. 
This was essential. The oblong rectangle rightly lies 
from east to west. 

(e) The opening in the west wall — if there were one, 
which is doubtful — had nothing corresponding with it 
in the tabernacle enclosure. This is accounted for by 
the fact that there was no second court to the west at 
Ramah, as at Shiloh, and that this opening would be for 
the sole use of the officiating priests and Levites from 
the neighbouring city of Hebron. 

(/) The hewn stones found in the village higher up 
the hill were possibly carried off from the two walls, 
though Mr. G. A. Murray, of Hebron, suggests that the 
removed stones may have been taken to form the first 
enclosure built around the Cave of Machpelah. This use 
of them would not have been deemed a desecration. The 
foundations of these walls, when found, will probably 
show a large gate opening on the east side, and another 
on the north, opposite to the line of the altar. 

(g) The Haram walls of Jerusalem and Hebron are 
largely Phoenician in character. The fact that the 
walls at er-Mdmeh resemble them in character of 
masonry is in favour of their being early Israelitish 
work. The fact that there are no hewn stones or ruins 
of any kind to show that the walls were ever carried 
higher is a point of cardinal importance, as fixing the 
use for which they were built. That use, it is suggested, 
was to screen an altar within the enclosure, as the 
hangings of the tabernacle courts screened its altar 



46 THE TABERNACLE. 

from curious and irreverent eyes. If this was their 
purpose, that altar could only have been the one built 
by Samuel. 

5 Happily we are in a position to test the foregoing 
suggestion that the ruins of er-Rameh are those of the 
ancient Ramah of Samuel, by an appeal to contemporary 
evidence of unimpeachable authority. We have in chapters 
ix. and x. of 1 Samuel an account of a visit to Ramathaim, 
which contains many topographical details. These we 
may compare with Dr. Robinson's description of the site. 

The following are the principal coincidences between 
the two, but there may be others which a more complete 
examination of the site would afford. 

(a) On the fourth day after leaving Gribeon, or the 
estate at Zelah near to it, Saul and his servant approached 
Ramah before the hour of the evening meal. They were 
'in the land of Zuph/ and, as an afterthought, it was 
determined to consult the seer, Samuel. As they ascended 
the hill on the north side of the city they met women 
going to draw water from the ' excavated cistern/ which 
Dr. Robinson noticed at the foot of the hill. 

(b) Leaving them, the two men ascended the hill, not 
by the way of the Roman road, but by a path which led 
directly to the crest of the hill before them. Here lay 
a large village, all the way from the crest of the hill to 
the stone- enclosure being now strewn with ruins of 
dwellings. 

The travellers, having crossed the peak and come within 
the city, met Samuel on his way to the high-place. 



SAUL'S VISIT TO SAMUEL. 47 

(c) It was 'in the gate/ 1 i.e. the gate leading to the 
high-place south of the city, that Saul addressed Samuel. 
The result was that together they went to the guest- 
chamber which lay within the enclosure — Jewish sacrifices 
of peace being usually eaten in the precincts of the 
sanctuary. 2 

(d) The feast over, Saul accompanied Samuel to his 
home in Ramah — the expression ' came down ' (verse 25) 
having reference rather to the dignity of the high-place 
than to the comparative altitudes of the city and the altar. 

(e) The next morning 3 Samuel, accompanied by Saul, 
went out, 'going down to the end of the city.' We 
gather from this, as from the first meeting of Samuel 
and Saul, that the house of the former was in the 
city and above the place of the altar. From this 
it would appear that Saul was privately anointed, 
as was fitting, in the neighbourhood of the altar, and 
did not leave the city by the way he had entered it. 
It will be remembered that Dr. Robinson walked from 
the main road to the ' immense foundations ' in seven 
minutes, and from them to the top of the hill in six 
minutes. As the position of Samuel's home is unknown, 



1 This does not necessarily mean that the city was surrounded by walls. 
Hebron still has gates at the ends of its streets, but has no surrounding wall. 

2 The word used for ' guest-chamber ' also occurs, as descriptive of a part 
of the Temple, in Jer. xxxv. 2, 4, and Ezek. xl. 17. In these and other 
passages a sacrificial dining-room is meant. Such rooms were required by the 
ordinance of Lev. vi. 16, 26, and were built as a part of every temple. 

8 Samuel is said to have summoned his guest ' about the spring of the day.' 
As the morning sacrifice was always killed before sunrise, and Samuel would 
attend this, the probability is in favour of their having gone together to 
the altar. 



48 THE TABERNACLE. 

the time generally taken to cover the distance of this 
early walk was probably less than fifteen minutes. It 
is not stated that Samuel accompanied Saul to the 
junction of the roads, though he probably did so, as 
a token of respect to his future sovereign. 

(/) Other confirmations of the identity of er-Bameh 
with Samuel's Ramah are to be found in the fact of 
David's having fled from the court of Saul to Samuel 
(1 Samuel xix. 18). As the Ramahs of Benjamin and 
Ephraim were situated close to Gibeon, it is unlikely 
that David would find any safety in places so few miles 
away from his enemy, or that he should expect it. 
There is positive evidence to the contrary in the fact 
that Saul himself went toward Ramah, and at the great 
well that is in Secu made inquiries for Samuel and 
David, having previously been told that they were living 
at Naioth in Ramah. Naioth is the word used in 
Psalm xxiii. 2, where it is translated 'pastures.' It is 
here, probably, a descriptive noun, and not a proper 
name. Had it been so, Saul, when at Secu, would not 
have needed to inquire where the ' pastures of Ramah ' 
were. He did so, and went to Naioth, or the pastures, 
with the result that, while he prophesied, David escaped. 

In this case the whereabouts of the great well of 
Secu is a prime factor, in deciding which of the many 
Ramahs is meant as that of Samuel's home. 

The plain of Mamre, to the immediate north of Hebron, 
is drained by the brook Eshcol, running to the south- 
west. Between two arms of the brook is a famous well, 
fed by a spring within. The former is known as the 



SAUL'S RETURN TO GIBEON. 49 

Sirah Well (2 Samuel iii. 26), and the latter as Ain 
Surah. In this pleasant vale, with its orchards and 
vineyards, we have the well Secu, beside which Saul 
rested, as Abner afterwards did. It is not more than 
three or four miles either from er-Rameh or from Hebron. 
It is possibly one of the springs of Caleb (Joshua xv. 19). 

6. The narrative before us yields, not only these rich 
fruits of topographical interest, but others equally welcome 
in the department of geography. 

(a) In the opinion of the late Dean Stanley the 
situation of Samuel's Raman and its allied questions is 
1 the most complicated and difficult problem of sacred 
topography.' It will have become evident that it is so 
solely in the refusal to accept as Ramah Mr. Walcott's 
and Mr. Van de Velde's Ramet, a little north of Hebron. 
When further scriptural evidence is adduced it will be 
found that there is in this no variance with the existing 
localities. 

Speaking to Saul in the gate of his city, Samuel told 
him that he would find two men by Rachel's sepulchre 
in the border of Benjamin. The site of this tomb is 
undisputed. It stands beside the road about one mile 
north of Bethlehem. 1 The boundary between Benjamin 
and Judah thus ran between the two, the territory of the 

1 Bethlehem was a city in the division of Judah. The name first occurs 
in Judges xvii. 7, where it is termed Bethlehem-Judah. Its ' father ' or 
founder was Salma, a son of Nahshon, first prince of the tribe of Judah 
(1 Chron. ii. 51). It was thus occupied immediately on Joshua's conquest of 
the land, though it does not find a place in Joshua's record of the cities of 
the land. 



50 THE TABERNACLE. 

former being extended, in a wedge-shape, just far enough 
to include the tomb of their great ancestress. It is, if 
possible, a still more inevitable deduction that the 'land 
of Zuph' (1 Samuel ix. 5) lay to the south of Bethlehem- 
in-Judah. As Saul was a Benjamite, the speech of the 
two men he was to meet at Zelzah was to be an indication 
of the coming supremacy of 'little Benjamin, their ruler.' 

That Rachel's tomb remained a well-known spot for 
centuries after this, we know from the prophetic utterance 
of Jeremiah (xxxi. 15), the Ramah mentioned by him 
here not being the same as that of chapter xl. 1. 

The first Evangelist, Matthew, though a Galilean, 
could have had no misgivings as to the contiguity of 
Rachel's tomb with Ramah, and of both with Bethlehem 
(which lay between them), as he cites the verse of 
Jeremiah and connects it with Bethlehem and ' all the 
borders thereof,' er-Rdmeh being twelve miles off (Matthew 
ii. 16-18). At this time the tomb was only a pyramid 
of stones with a cave beneath, which was its appearance 
so late as the seventh century a.d. 

(b) As Saul went northward to Gibeon from Rachel's 
tomb, he would pass to the west of Jebus, even then 
called Jerusalem, 1 and was told by Samuel that when 
he came to the Gibeah-of-God a certain thing would 
happen. In Samuel's mouth this name could hardly 
apply to any other place than Mizpah {= Neby Samwil), 
(at the foot of which his most direct path lay), as it 
was there that God had so lately come to the help of his 
people against the Philistine army. Its connection with 
1 As shown by the Tel el-Amarna tablets. 



TABERNACLE REMOVED TO NOB. 51 

the subject of this chapter lies in the fact that it had 
become a bamah or high-place, and that a procession of 
musicians coming from there was joined by Saul, who, 
meeting them at the 'Ir s enclosure, accompanied them 
to another high-place, probably that at Gibeon, 1| miles 
away. These Israelitish high-places were a copy of 
heathenism, being based upon the material idea that 
worshippers standing on them were nearer to the seat 
of the God or gods than when on lower ground. In 
contrast with this it may be noticed that the sites chosen 
for the Tabernacle were never those of hill-tops. Gilgal 
was on a plain, Shiloh on a gently-rising slope, and 
even Moriah was surrounded by hills higher than itself. 
Ramah, as we have seen, lay below the town in which 
Samuel lived, and Gibeon may have been on a plain. 

In the identification of er-Rameh of Judah with the 
Ramah of Samuel, we also recover the 'Arimathea' of 
Joseph, the Sanhedrist, who begged the body of Jesus 
and laid it in his own tomb. Arimathea was still ' a city 
of the Jews' (Luke xxxii. 51) at the time of the 
Crucifixion. It is now quite deserted. 

7. The altar at Ramah was in use when Saul was 
privately informed of his coming election as King. 
A national assembly held shortly afterwards, for the 
selection of a king, showed that Mizpah ( = Neby 
Samivil) was the central meeting-place of the Tribes; 
while Samuel's instruction to Saul to spend seven days 
at Gilgal in preparation for the public recognition of 
him as God's vicegerent, showed that the Tabernacle 



52 THE TABEBNACLE. 

now stood there. A great change was, however, 
imminent. This was no less than the final abandon- 
ment of Gilgal as the site of the Tabernacle. It were 
vain to attempt any categorical reason for this action. 
Not unlikely it was done at Saul's instigation, and as 
a step toward the attainment of a purpose which he, 
later, carried out. Saul's attitude toward the priesthood 
was uniformly one of hostility and even contempt. He 
had usurped the priest's office at the service of his own 
consecration (1 Samuel xiii. 9). He had, as a con- 
sequence, alienated from himself the friendship of Samuel, 
whose life he threatened (1 Samuel xvi. 2). More was to 
follow. 

The result, however, was that, after the final breach 
with Samuel (1 Samuel xv.), we next hear of the 
Tabernacle as being at Nob. As is so frequently the 
case in the records of those days, deeds that were 
revolting to the conscience of the writers are passed 
over without mention. Doubtless Saul found Gilgal, 
in the eastern limit of the land, inconvenient as a place 
of rendezvous for the militia of the people, and injurious 
to the military operations in which he was constantly 
engaged (1 Samuel xiv. 47), as his attendance was 
sometimes requisite there. It is not until the breach 
with Samuel had been followed by that with David, 
that we find the High-priest Ahimelech (son of the 
Ahitub who, forty years before this, had been rescued 
from the burning of Shiloh) officiating at Nob. He 
seems to have been a man without any real dignity of 
character or pride of office, just such a one as would 



IDENTIFICATION OF NOB. 53 

surrender everything to the hectoring of Saul, of whom 
he lived in craven fear. He probably removed the 
Tabernacle to Nob. 

8. Four miles to the north of Jerusalem, and at the 
distance of a quarter of a mile to the east of the main 
road, is a curiously knobbed and double-topped hill, 
named by the Arabs Tell (or Tuleil) el-Ful. The crown 
of this hill is 30 feet higher than Mount Zion, and 
Jerusalem can be plainly seen from it. On its top is 
a large pyramidal mound of unhewn stones, which 
Robinson supposes to have been originally a square 
tower of 40 or 50 feet, and to have been violently 
thrown down. No other foundations are to be seen. 
At the foot of the hill are ancient substructions, built 
of large unhewn stones in low massive walls. These 
are on its south side, and adjoin the great road. 

If we take the scriptural indications as to the site of 
Nob (= height), this hill and these ruins fulfil all the 
conditions of the case. 

(a) Nob was so far regarded as belonging to Jerusalem, 
as one of its villages (thus involving its proximity), 
that David's bringing Goliath's head and sword to the 
Tabernacle at Nob was regarded as bringing them to 
Jerusalem (1 Samuel xvii. 54). 

(b) A clearer indication as to its situation is, however, 
gained by the record of the restoration towns and 
villages in which Nob is mentioned, the name occurring 
between those of Anathoth and Ananiah (Nehemiah 
xi. 32). These two places still bear practically the 



54 THE TABEKNACLE. 

same names, and their sites are well known. In the 
narrow space between Andta and Hanina stands the hill 
of Tell el-Ful, which we take to be the ancient Nob. 

(c) Another indication is contained in Isaiah's account 
of Sennacherib's march on Jerusalem, the picturesque 
climax of which is, ' This very day shall he halt at 
Nob ; he shaketh his hand at the mount of the daughter 
of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem* (Isaiah x. 28-32). There 
are only two hills on the north from which the city can 
be seen, so as to give reality to the poet's words. One 
of these is Neby Samivzl, the other Tell el-Ful. Like 
Pompey in after centuries, the Assyrians approached 
Jerusalem from the valley of the Jordan, and not by 
any of its great roads. The evidences of this are to 
be found in the list of places given in the preceding 
context of the verse in which Nob is mentioned. These, 
with their modern equivalents, are : — 

(1) Aith, . . . now Khan Haipan, 1 mile south- 
east of et Tell (= Ai), which is one mile north of 
Mich mash. 

(2) Migron, . . . { = precipice), now Makhrun, 
a little east of Bethel. 

(3) Michrnash, . . . modern village of Miikkmas, 
north of the Eastern Gibeah (Jeba). 

(4) ' The Pass ' . . . Compare ' the pass of 
Michrnash' (1 Sam. xiii. 23). 

(5) Geba, . . . (= Jeba), 2 or 3 miles south of 
Michrnash, with the Suweinit gorge between. 

(6) Ramah, . . . (= er Earn), between 2 and 3 miles 
west of Geba (= Jeba). 



SENNACHERIB ON NOB. 55 

(7) Gibeah of Saul, . . . = Gibeon, now el- Jib, 
3 miles to the west of Ramah of Benjamin (= er Rdm). 

(8) Gallim, . . . (= heaps), birthplace of Phalti 
(1 Sam. xv. 44), unknown. 

(9) Laishah, ... a ruin named Adasa, east of 
Gibeon. 

(10) Anathoth, . . . village of Anata, 5 miles 
north-east of Jerusalem. 

(11) Madmenah, . . . (= dung-heap), unknown, 
possibly a suburb of Jerusalem. 

(12) Gebim, . . . ( = the trenches), unknown, 
possibly defensive works on the north side of Jerusalem. 

The outstanding military facts of the five verses in 
which these names occur are that Sennacherib had laid 
up his baggage at Michmash, the pass being impossible 
for vehicles, and had moved on to Nob with a part of his 
army (the main body being at Geba), from the top of 
which he was ' on that very day ' to shake his fist at 
Jerusalem. 

Mizpah is not mentioned. It lay off the line of march, 
and may have had no settled population. 

(d) An examination of the three books of the Bible in 
which Nob is mentioned leaves us no ground for seeing it 
in Neby Samwil. If Mizpah be in this way excluded, 
the only other claimant to the position is Tell el-Ful. 

David was 30 years of age at the time of Saul's death. 1 

1 Saul was an old man at the time of his death. Two lines of argument 
lead to this conclusion. One, that his fourth son, Ish-bosheth (1 Chron. ix. 
39), was 40 years old when he was set upon the throne (2 Sam. ii. 10). The 



56 THE TABERNACLE. 

He was thus still a young man when he called at Nob 
and obtained Goliath's sword. Shortly afterwards, during 
the lifetime of Saul, the Tabernacle was removed to Gibeon. 
During the few years in which it stood at Nob it would 
hardly be likely to have been placed on the top of the 
hill. We have seen that such situations were alien to the 
spirit of the new faith. Its place must thus be sought at 
the foot of the hill, where are the low massive walls 
and ancient substructions of unhewn stone, remarked by 
Robinson. No dimensions of these walls are available. 
Their height, thickness, and length remain as yet 
unrecorded, together with the size of their enclosed 
areas and aspect. With the key of the cubit in our 
hand we may be able to decide as to their probable 
origin and history, so soon as the required data are before 
us. Then may be expected to close another chapter in 
the elucidation of the memorable sites of the Holy Land. 

9. The episode of the High-priest Ahimelech's giving 
Goliath's sword to David at Nob is one that was pregnant 
with consequences to all the parties concerned in it. It 



other, that by the true interpretation of 1 Sam. xiii. Saul's popular election 
as king took place one year after his anointing by Samuel, when he became 
king de jure. Two years after his election war with the Philistines broke out, 
in which Jonathan greatly distinguished himself. He could not have been 
less than 18 years of age at this time, his father, Saul, being possibly 20 
years older. This was m the fourth year of his reign, when he was about 
38 years of age. The length of his reign is nowhere given, but it was not 
short. The reading in the margin of 1 Sam. ix. 2 is therefore to be preferred, 
in which Saul, at the time of his election, is spoken of as ' choice ' rather 
than as ' young.' 



THE TABERNACLE AT GIBEON. 57 

gave to the tyrant Saul the opportunity of carrying out 
a half-fulfilled purpose which he must, for a long time, 
have secretly cherished. To learn what that purpose 
was we must, for a moment, look at the relations in 
which the family of Saul stood to their ancestral city, 
Gibeah-of-Saul, more commonly known as Gibeon. 

We have, in the first book of Chronicles, genealogies, 
rewritten after the return from the Captivity, in which 
the descent of the two houses of Saul and David are 
minutely traced. 

Six verses of chapter viii. (vv. 33-38) trace the family 
history from Ner, the father of Kish, and grandfather 
of Saul, to those descendants of the ex-royal family who 
returned from the Babylonish captivity. These particulars 
are repeated in chapter ix. (vv. 39-44), and are an 
illustration of the composite character of the book. In 
each of these texts are verses preceding them, practically 
identic, in which the family history is given as far 
back as the records went. They so far supplement one 
another as to tell us that a certain Jeiel, whose wife's 
name was Maachah, was the * father ' of Gibeon. This 
joint genealogy furnishes a line of fifteen generations, 
and dates from some period anterior to the elevation 
of Saul. 

"What is meant by the * father ' of a city is a position 
which cannot be reproduced — hardly understood — in our 
Western social life. The soil out of which the office 
grew was the patriarchal one, by which the family, the 
sept, and the clan were governed by its eldest and most 
honoured member. When the change from a pastoral 



58 THE TABERNACLE. 

life into that of an agricultural one was complete, and 
communities were formed in villages, towns, and cities, 
the same social instincts prevailed, and the ' father ' of 
the little group of households became an hereditary 
office, transmitted from father to son. 1 Thus the office 
of ' father/ in the once Gibeonite town of Gibeah, was 
retained in the family of Matri, and descended to Saul. 
The family inheritance was at Zela, in the county 
of Benjamin, where also was the family sepulchre 
(2 Samuel xxi. 14). Zela is mentioned in Joshua xviii. 
28, next to Eleph (= Lifta), and was probably not far 
from Gibeon, but no trace of it has been found. 

Holding this local honour in the family, and elected 
King over all Israel, Saul determined to make Gibeon 
the seat of government for the country and the spiritual 
capital of the new kingdom. To this end the transfer 
of the Tabernacle from Gilgal was one step. The erection 
of Samuel's altar at Eamah was another, as it withdrew 
a large amount of influence from the recognised place 
of sacrifice for the twelve tribes. The death of Samuel 
about this time (1 Samuel xxv. 1), and the incident of 
the sword of Goliath, gave Saul the opportunity he had 
long waited for. Sending for Ahimelech, the High-priest, 
and all the priests that were in Nob, to some height 
adjoining Gibeon, he had them foully murdered before 
his eyes. He did not fear to lift up his hand upon the 

1 The title, however, would seem to have been retained in the records only 
to those fathers who were the first of their line, or the founders of cities. 
In such cases as those of 1 Chron. ii. 42-52 and iv, 4-5, in which 
Canaanite towns are mentioned, the ' father ' of each is to be understood of its 
Jirst ruler or patriarch. 



MASSACEE OF THE GIBEONITES. 59 

Lord's anointed. This was but a part of his crime. He 
sent his executioners to Nob, and there destroyed all the 
dedicated servants of the Tabernacle, Abiathar alone, as 
a priest, being allowed to escape. 

At the same time he began a war of general ex- 
termination against the Gibeonite hewers of wood and 
drawers of water for the Tabernacle. We catch a glimpse 
of this act of uncalled-for ferocity in the statement that 
the Beerothites fled to Gittaim (2 Samuel iv. 3). Beeroth 
was one of the four Hivite cities that drew Joshua into 
a treaty of peace, and by the destruction of all their 
heathen inhabitants Saul hoped to purge Gibeon and 
the land of its foreign element, and to secure around 
the Tabernacle, when re-erected, only men of the race 
of Israel (2 Samuel xxi. 2, 5). "We know how this 
series of monstrous crimes was expiated in the reign 
of David, by the death of seven of Saul's descendants, 
who were hanged in Gibeah-of-Saul, i.e. Gibeon. 

Before that day came, however, the Tabernacle was 
removed to Gibeon, and the policy of blood and sacrilege 
seemed to prosper. 

10. In the original grant of fourteen cities to the tribe 
of Benjamin, three had different forms of the same name 
(Joshua xviii. 21-28), two of which were priestly cities. 
These are given as Geba, Gibeon, and Gibeath, but their 
sites have been recovered, and they may be distinguished 
as Jibia, the place of the northern Gibeah; Jeba, the 
site of the eastern Gibeah ; and el- Jib, the village of the 
southern Gibeah, or Gibeon. 



60 THE TABERNACLE. 

The former city of the Hivites was not only the largest 
of the three, but played a more prominent part in the 
history of the country than either ' Gibeah of Benjamin ' 
(= Jeba) or the Gibeah lying in the north angle of the 
territory of Benjamin, a few miles south of Shiloh, 1 now 
known as Jtbia. In addition to the confusion caused by 
this similarity of names, the word Gibeah is often used 
in the English Bible (both versions) as an appellative, 
and not as a proper name, e.g., Abinadab is said to have 
lived in the Gibeah of Kirjath-Jearim (2 Samuel vi. 3), 
and Saul is described as sitting in Gibeah, under the 
tree in Ramah (1 Samuel xxii. 6). 

The identity of the village of el- Jib with the site 
of Gibeon is practically beyond dispute. ' The pool of 
Gibeon ' (2 Samuel ii. 13) and ' the great waters that 
are in Gibeon ' (Jeremiah xli. 11) are still represented 
by a large stone tank or reservoir, 100 x 120 feet, 
supplied by a spring which rises in a cave higher up. 
A secret way led down from the town to the spring, 
as at Jerusalem. 

The village stands on the more northerly of two 
mamelons (2,572 feet) six miles from Jerusalem and seven 
from Bethel. Its strategic value was great, as it lay on 
the watershed of the central plateau, across which, passing 
its northern foot, ran the road which connects the pass 
of Bethhoron on the west with that of Michmash on the 
east. El- Jib is built upon an isolated oblong hill standing 
in a plain or basin of great fertility. The northern end 

1 Hence we read that in the reign of Joeiah the kingdom of Judah 
extended ' from Geba to Beersheba ' (2 Kings xxiii. 8). 



GIBEON AS A CAPITAL. 61 

of the hill is covered with old massive ruins, which have 
fallen down in every direction, and in which the villagers 
now live. Across the plain to the south is the loft}'' 
ridge of Neby Samivil. 

Gibeon was one of four towns in the division of 
Benjamin given as residences for the sons of Aaron 
(Joshua xxi. 17). It was thus already inhabited by 
priests, and this, added to its other advantages, made it, 
humanly speaking, a not unsuitable place for the capital 
of the new kingdom. Its situation is certainly more 
central than that of Jerusalem, and the soil of the 
adjoining territory more fertile than the rocky slopes of 
Olivet and Moriah or the valleys that lie around them. 

In the total destruction of the hamlet at Nob the 
Tabernacle was reserved. Its preservation was necessary 
to the plans of the King. It is in entire consonance with 
the habits and traditions of Hebrew historiographers 
that an act so founded in self-will and ambition as the 
transfer of the altar and tabernacle to Gibeon, with all its 
brutal accompaniments, should be unrecorded by them. 
Not in any way to refer to it or to notice its existence, 
was at once the most dignified censure of Saul, and the 
most complete repudiation of his action. 1 Such we find 
to be the case throughout the long and devout reign of 
David. Not until his death and Solomon's accession do 
we find any specific reference to the erection of the 

1 The verdict of history was spoken by the prophet Hosea, who wrote 
a few years before the fall of Samaria. He traces the moral corruption of 
the northern kingdom to its source at Gibeon : ' They have deeply corrupted 
themselves as in the days of Gibeah .... Israel, thou hast sinned from 
the days of Gibeah. There have they continued ' (Hosea ix. 9 and x. 9). 



62 THE TABEKNACLE. 

Tabernacle at Gibeon. And the record is then so full 
and minnte tbat we at once feel it to be the breaking 
of a long and premeditated silence (1 Kings iii. 4). 
A single line in the history of David's officers of state 
records that Zadok, of the senior line of Eleazar, had been 
placed in charge of the Tabernacle at Gibeon, doubtless 
by Saul, and this entry shows that David did not kindle 
the flames of religious strife by repudiating Saul's action, 
but recognised it as a thing done, with which he did not 
wish to interfere (2 Samuel xx. 25). 

No remains of buildings at el- Jib have been discovered, 
such as those at er-Rdmeh and Tell el-Ful, which may be 
attributed to the Tabernacle as its outer walls. 

A suggestion may be hazarded that the Tabernacle 
stood on the west side of el- Jib, where, in the plain, 
is a large neglected well, at a distance of about a mile 
from the city. It is called Bir el-Ozeiz, and is 19 feet 1 
in diameter and nearly filled up with earth, being only 
8 feet to the water, which also is very scanty (Robinson's 
Biblical Researches, vol. i. p. 455; vol. ii. p. 256). 

So large a work as the digging of this well would not 
have been undertaken without some adequate motive. 
It is not used for purposes of agriculture, and may 
possibly have once supplied an adjoining tabernacle with 
water. 

1 This must be a printer's error for 9 feet. I judge the well to have about 
the same diameter as the well at Rdmet. It has lately been cleaned out and 
the upper wall rebuilt, so that no stress can be laid upon any diameter that is 
not taken below the level of the water. In February, 1904, the well was 
overflowing, and no agricultural use was being made of the water, which was 
running to waste. 



TABERNACLE SITE AT GIBEOK 63 

But further investigation is necessary, though it may 
be remarked that the situation is suitable to the description 
that the Gibeonites hanged Saul's seven descendants ' in 
the mountain before the Lord ' 1 (2 Samuel xxi. 9) ; if 
by this we are to understand the southern Mamelon, on 
which there are no ruins, and which is to the east of 
the well. 

11. If, however, David never worshipped in person at 
the Tabernacle of Gibeon, and did no more than officially 
recognise the high standing of Zadok as one of two 
officiating High-priests, 2 we are not to suppose that the 
difficult ecclesiastical questions of the hour did not re- 
ceive consideration from him, and some kind of solution. 
Whatever the treatment he adopted, we may be sure that 
it was at once tender and cautious, and in contrast to the 
high-handed action of Saul, the apostate King of Israel. 
That it was not sufficiently reverential we shall see. 



1 The mention of Geba (Gibeon) in 1 Chron. viii. 6 is suggestive, the 
more so as the Chaldee Targum adds to Manahath the words ' In the land 
of Edom.' 

Considering how hostile were the relations of Benjamin and Judah after 
the death of Saul (2 Samuel iii. 1), and the fact that at David's election as 
king over all the tribes the greater part of the tribe of Benjamin kept their 
allegiance to the house of Saul (1 Chron. xii. 29), it is not improbable that 
the migration (' captivity') of a number of malcontent Benjamites, under the 
guidance of Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, heads of fathers' houses in Gibeon, 
to Mahanath ( = resting-place) in Edom, took place at this time. 

At the restoration the return of some of their descendants is noted in 
1 Chron. viii. 8-12. 

2 The resolution to build at Jerusalem a new tent and Tabernacle for the 
Ark, rather than to replace it in its old shrine at Gibeon, is the clearest 
possible proof of the adoption of this line of conduct. 



64 THE TABEKNACLE. 

On David's election as King over all the Tribes, and 
his capture of the fortress of Jebus — the Uru-salim of 
the Amarna tablets, — one of his first civic activities was 
the building of a palace for himself. With characteristic 
simplicity of language this is always called ' a house,' 
though built by Phoenician masons and carpenters, and 
fitted with cedar- wood (2 Sam. v. 11, and 1 Chron. xv. 1). 

Questions of the situation of this house, and even of the 
locality of the city of David, belong to the topography of 
Jerusalem, and will be treated under that head. In the 
meantime it is enough to state the conclusions arrived 
at, which are that the Ophel (= swelling) spur is what 
should be known as the city of David, and that David's 
house stood on its highest point, and just below the south 
wall of the Haram area. It was reached by a gate and 
narrow street, running east and west, from the place of 
the Horse Gate, which stood at the south-west corner 
of Mount Moriah. The elevated situation of David's 
palace is implied both in the Bathsheba incident, and in 
the view of the procession of the ark Michal had from 
one of its windows. 

Near to, possibly adjoining, the King's house, and 
farther to the west, was a place ' prepared,' i.e. levelled, 
for the ark of God, and a tent, in exact imitation of that 
at Gibeon, was pitched upon it (1 Chron. xv. 1). 

That the site of the new Tabernacle adjoined that of 
the palace to which Solomon brought his Egyptian wife, 
we see in the curious reason given by him for removing 
her to the porch built for her on Mount Moriah. ' My 
wife,' said he, ' shall not dwell in the house of David, 



A SECOND TABERNACLE. 65 

King of Israel, because the places are holy whereunto the 
ark of the Lord hath come ' (2 Chron. viii. 11). 

It is probable that David's house was not of large 
size, and that the tent of the Tabernacle stood in a very 
limited, though enclosed, area (1 Kings viii. 1). 

The language of 1 Kings iii. 4, that 'at Gibeon was 
the great high place/ is not only singular in appropriating 
to the Tabernacle a description commonly used of un- 
authorized places of sacrifice, but it also involves the idea 
of there having been another sanctioned high-place of 
inferior age and fewer associations. That when the golden, 
ark of the Covenant arrived at Jerusalem they offered burnt- 
offerings and peace-offerings before God (1 Chron. xvi. 1), 
leaves no room for doubt as to whether David's tabernacle 
in Jerusalem was furnished with an altar or not. These 
offerings could have been made only at a properly- 
equipped tabernacle, before which an altar stood ; though 
it is probable that up to this time the public sacrifices, 
offered daily, monthly, and yearly, on behalf of the whole 
nation, were slain at Gibeon, and offered by Zadok. 

The new tent and its altar being ready for occupation 
and use, arrangements were made for bringing into it the 
Ark of the Covenant, which had, for nearly a century of 
years, 1 lain in its room at Kirjath-Jearim, with no High- 
priest in attendance upon it. 



1 This approximate total is thus made up : (1) Samuel's judgeship, from 
the loss of the ark to the election of Saul, 40 years ; (2) length of Saul's 
reign, during the whole of which the ark was in captivity, about 20 years ; 
(3) David's reign of seven years at Hebron, and portion of reign in Jerusalem, 
10 to 15 years. 



66 THE TABERNACLE. 

It was determined to have a great procession of many 
thousands, gathered from all places between the extremes 
of Wady-el-Arish and. the Yalley of the Orontes. In. 
the record of this assemblage no mention is made of 
priests or Levites. Psalm cxxxii. was then composed. 

The idea was that as the ark had been lost in battle, and 
its absence from the Tabernacle was thus a national act, 
so the whole nation, by its representatives, should escort 
it to Jerusalem, and that the soldiery and civilians should 
there deliver it to the priests, to be put into its place in 
the midst of the Tabernacle. The procession was formed 
at Kirjath-Jearim, with many musical instruments, and 
as the ark had been restored by the Philistines on a new 
cart drawn by two milch kine, so it was now put upon 
a new cart and placed in the care of two of the sons of 
Abinadab, one of whom led the oxen and the other drove 
the cart. As Kirjath-Jearim was neither a priestly nor 
a Levitical city, it is probable that Abinadab aud his sons 
were laymen. They are nowhere given any sacred rank, 
nor is any blessing attached to their long care of the ark. 

The policy pursued, that of following the Philistine 
precedent of removing the ark, and of making its 
restoration an act of national glorification, was a fatal 
one. Uzza was smitten to death for touching the ark 
when the oxen were restive. The procession was at once 
arrested. David, who was present, as one of the players 
upon harps, on the instant gave orders to abandon the 
progress. 

The ark was reverently carried by Levites into the 
house of one of their number who lived in a neighbouring 



EISE OF OBED-EDOM. 67 

village, 1 and Israel dispersed with a new sense of the 

reality of the Mosaic Law, and of the penalties following 

on those who disobeyed it. 

Obed-Edora, into whose house the ark was received, 

was a Kohathite Levite of the family of Korah, the 

Kohathites being the highest in rank of all the Levites, 

Aaron and Moses belonging to their stock. He was 

a resident of Gittaim (= two winepresses), a village that 

stood beside the road, somewhere in the ten miles that 

separated Kirjath-Jearim and Jerusalem. Its site has 

not been recovered, though it is mentioned in David's 

time (2 Samuel iv. 3), and again after the restoration 

(Nehemiah xi. 33). From the name of his home, and 

from the prominence into which the events of this day 

brought him, he came to be known as Obed-Edom the 

Gittite. The ark remained in his care for the space of 

three months, during which time we are told the Lord 

blessed him. The nature of the blessing may be seen 

in the names of the eight sons (1 Chron. xxvi. 4-5) who 

were successively born to him, and whose descendants 

became principal members of the Temple guard. Till 

then he evidently had no son. The fact of these sons 

having been born, and having grown to early manhood 

subsequent to the removal of the ark to Jerusalem, is one 

of many indications of the time which elapsed between 

different events recorded in the text, and which stand 

adjacent to one another. 

1 A number of the Tabernacle Nethinim were at this time living in this 
village (2 Samuel iv. 3) . As they had fled from the massacre by Saul, it is 
probable that it lay outside the boundaries of the tribe of Benjamin. The 
text implies this. 



68 THE TABERNACLE. 

12. During these three months great preparations were 
made for the further removal of the ark with all fitting 
solemnity and honour. The ritual of the Law was studied 
and minutely followed. Both the High - priests were 
ordered to be in attendance, that they might wrap up 
-the ark in the inner veil of the sanctuary, as prescribed 
in Numbers iv. 5-6, and place its staves in position. 
Neither priests nor Levites were allowed to touch the 
ark, or to look upon it when uncovered. The Kohathites 
then carried it, the ends of the staves resting upon their 
shoulders. For this purpose 120 attended the procession 
from Gittaiin ; other Levites to the number of 742 attended 
as musicians. The sons, i.e. the associates, of Jeduthun 
who were Merarites, had harps and other instruments 
of percussion. The sons of Heman, the grandson of 
Samuel, and so Kohathites (1 Ohron. vi. 33), bore 
trumpets and other wind instruments. The sons of Asaph 
(Gershonites) were singers. The members of these three 
guilds of music were under a conductor named Chenaniah, 
chief of the Levites, who instructed about the carrying 
of the ark, because he was skilful (1 Chron. xv. 22). 
Some of the instruments were set to Alamoth and others 
to the Sheminith. It is interesting to know that the 
musical octave was in use in those early times, of which 
the superscriptions of Psalms xlvi. and vi. are memorials. 

When the procession moved off, seven priests, robed in 
linen garments and blowing silver trumpets, immediately 
preceding it, and it was seen that no disaster occurred, 
but that God accepted the services of the porter-Levites, 
sacrifices were offered by the roadside. With great 



ARK BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM. 69 

rejoicings the ark was carried to Jerusalem (Obed-Edom 
and Jehiah being in special attendance upon it), and 
set in its place in the Holy of Holies within the new \** 
Tabernacle which had been built for it in the city of 
David. Sacrifices in great number were then offered 
on the altar before it, and the day closed with royal 
gifts of bread and raisins and wine to every adult — the 
flesh of the peace-offerings being common to all. 

We have in the 16th chapter of 1 Chronicles the 
official setting of the Psalm which David composed for 
this great occasion. And in Psalms cv. and xcvi. we 
have the same poem as it was divided into parts and 
amended for use in the Temple worship. Besides these 
memorials of that day, we have in Psalms xv. and xxiv. 
two other lyrics which were written with direct reference 
to the death of Uzza, but their tone of sadness and query 
does not comport so well with the day of rejoicing as 
with the period of anxiety which immediately preceded it. 

13. There were now, and for several years, two fully 
equipped Tabernacles in Israel. That at Gibeon was 
presided over by the representatives of the elder line 
of Aaron and had as its distinctive glory the original 
Tabernacle and Altar made by Moses. That at Jerusalem 
was distinguished by having the original Ark and Mercy- 
Seat and the two tables of the Law, and was attended 
by the heir of the younger line of Aaron's descendants. 

Both were under the protection and support of the 
King, as supreme ruler in Church and State — subject 
only to the theocratic idea under which the nation was 



70 THE TABERNACLE. 

called into existence. With consummate kingcraft 
David determined upon doing nothing which should 
divide Israel into two hostile camps of worshippers. 
The younger brothers and sons of each High-priest 
being ordinary priests, and not High-priests, and the 
genealogies being carefully kept, no difficulty arose in 
surrounding each of the two heads of the sub-clans with 
a number of associate-priests. They would naturally 
group themselves around the several princes of their 
family at Gibeon and at Jerusalem. The danger of 
schism in such an arrangement was one which David 
took an early opportunity of correcting, as we shall see. 
But at the first this is how the two altars were served, 
so far as sacrificing priests were needed. 

With Levites the case was different. The three clans 
of these were divided by David's authority immediately 
on the establishment of regular worship in Jerusalem. 

Asaph and all the Gershonites (1 Chron. vi. 39-43) 
ministered before the ark continually, by turns, as 
every day's work required, either as musicians or as 
attendants on the slaughterers of sacrificial animals. 1 
Obed-Edom the Gittite, with sixty-seven of his brethren, 
with another Obed-Edom, a son of Jeduthun, aDd 
Hosah, another Merarite, in all seventy persons, or ten 

1 At the reopening of the Temple on the accession of Hezekiah, the priests 
■were too few to flay the sacrifices. They were therefore helped, in this part 
of the work, by the Levites (2 Chron. xxix. 34). This passage is therefore 
against the view that the Levites up to this period slaughtered the sacrificial 
animals, as, when needed, they only assisted to flay them. But in the 
amended rules of Ezekiel they were to be allowed to kill the sacrifices for the 
people, but not more directly to attend upon the altar (Ezekiel xliv. 10-14). 



PUBLIC WORSHIP BEOKGANIZED. 71 

per diem for every week, were appointed to be door- 
keepers of the Tabernacle in Jerusalem. The staff was 
now complete. Priests, Levites, singers, and doorkeepers 
were in their places, and chief amongst them was Asaph, 
the writer of Psalms 1. and lxxiii.-lxxvii. That Asaph 
was the writer of certain Psalms is affirmed in 2 Chron. 
xxix. 30. 

The remaining Levites of the sub-clans of Heman 
and Jeduthun (Kohathites and Merarites) were in the 
choir, or assistants to the slaughterers in the shambles, 1 
or at the gates of the Tabernacle of the Lord that was 
at Gibeon (1 Chron. xvi. 39-42). From the terms in 
which this arrangement of Levites is recorded it would 
appear that the service of song in the House of the 
Lord that was at Jerusalem was, with the exception of 
the priests' trumpets, purely vocal, and that at Gibeon 
it was largely, if not wholly, instrumental. This is 
what might have been anticipated when we read that, 
at the progress from Gittaim, ' On that day did David 
first ordain to give thanks unto the Lord by the hand 
of Asaph and his brethren ' (1 Chron. xvi. 7). The 
precedent then established was retained by the same 
authorities, David and Asaph, in the worship which 
daily rose from the city of David. Devotional words 
set to music were now first introduced into the Church 
by the poet-king and the psalmist-singer. The older 
and more conservative method of musical worship by 
instruments was naturally retained at Gibeon. This was 
in harmony with the law of Numbers x. 10. Such an 
1 See note on p. 70. 



72 THE TABERNACLE. 

innovation as was in use in Ophel not only rendered 
the service of the House of God more intelligently 
devout, it also called for such psalms and hymns and 
spiritual songs as we have in the body of the Psalter, 
and has thus been an unspeakable blessing to the Church 
in all subsequent ages. 

The genealogy of the three chiefs of the two choirs, 
with Asaph standing on the right of Heman, and Ethan 
( = Jeduthun) on his left, is given in 1 Chron. vi. 
16-48, it being stated that their appointments were 
merely provisional ' until Solomon had built the House 
of the Lord in Jerusalem ' (verse 32). The ' tabernacle 
of the tent of meeting ' is, however, spoken of as one, 
though in two parts, the representatives of the whole 
body of musicians being present at the recognition 
meeting. In chapter xvi. 37-42, their separation into 
two choirs is recorded, with their constituents, as already 
noted. 

14. It is to be imagined that the removal of the ark to 
Jerusalem, and the inauguration of the Tabernacle-service 
there, took place about the middle of David's reign of 
forty years. The true sequence of events is, however, 
of more importance than an exact chronology of any one 
of them, and the next development bearing upon our 
subject is that of the acquirement of a site for the future 
temple, and its occupation by an altar. 

This took place in connection with David's census of 
the people, a matter which the Law, as we have it, 
sanctions, though so shrewd a man as Joab knew that it 



THEOPHANY ON MORIAH. 73 

would be a cause of guilt to Israel; the reason being 
that the half-shekel of atonement-money for each male 
above 20 years of age was not proposed to be collected, 
according to the law of Exodus xxx. 11-16. The penalty 
for not doing so was to be an outbreak of the plague. 
The sequel of the census taken by Joab is well known. 
It is, however, worthy of notice that the command 
to build an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor 
of Oman the Jebusite was of Divine origin, and came 
through the prophet Gad (1 Chron. xxi. 18). This com- 
mand was at once obeyed, and David himself went to 
effect the purchase. It is a point of capital urgency to 
show that the threshing-floor (as might be anticipated) 
lay outside the circuit of the city wall as it then stood. 
Evidence on this behalf is reserved until it can be more 
fully dealt with in the topography of Jerusalem. It is 
there inferred that the original north wall of the city of 
David ran diagonally across what is now known as the 
Haram area, cutting off its south-west corner, and leaving 
the site of the Sakhrah Stone outside the fortification. 

To this spot David came, buying the threshing instru- 
ment and oxen for fifty silver shekels, 1 and the large site 
of ground, probably the whole farm, for 600 shekels of 
gold. 2 As soon as the purchase was completed, David 
built there an altar to Jehovah, and offered the two oxen 
as a burnt-sacrifice, on which fell the fire of Heaven. 



1 At 3s. 4d. t about £8 10s. 

3 As the ratio in value of silver and gold in early times was that of 13 : 40, 
a gold shekel of the same weight as one of silver would be valued at about 
10s. Hence 600 such = £300. 



74 THE TABERNACLE. 

When we remember that every Jewish altar was placed 
upon a base of either sods or unhewn stone, by which the 
site was at once raised and levelled, and that the brasen 
altar was, in every case, a small moveable box, with an 
interior grating, it is hardly possible to avoid the con- 
clusion that the actual altar then used for the burnt- 
sacrifice was that which had stood before the Tabernacle 
in the city of David. It was fitted with rings and staves 
for removal, being doubtless modelled after that con- 
structed by Bezalel in the wilderness. This supposition 
receives support from the fact that all the proceedings of 
that day were hastily carried out, on account of the 
plague then raging, and which prevented David's going 
to Gibeon (1 Chron. xxi. 29). To suppose that a delay of 
several days would have followed, while a new altar, 
covered with plates of brass, was being constructed, is to 
violate all the probabilities of the case. 

On the miraculous proof of the acceptance of his 
sacrifice, David emphatically said, in the presence of the 
High-priest and other sacrificial attendants, ' This is the 
House of Jehovah, and This is the altar of burnt-offering 
for Israel.' 

It is in harmony with Eastern habits of thought and 
conduct that a spot consecrated by a Theophany should 
at once supersede any other in its neighbourhood which 
had hitherto been used for sacrifice, and was not so 
highly credentialled (Ex. iii. 5; Josh. v. 15). The altar 
at Gibeon, till the reign of Solomon, continued to smoke 
with victims, but it is against the evidence to suppose that 
the brasen altar made by David was ever taken back to 



ALTAR BUILT ON MORIAH. 75 

its place before the Tabernacle. There is, on the contrary, 
evidence to show that from the moment of David's 
authoritative statement to that effect, the site of the 
threshing-floor became the place of sacrifice for all Israel, 
and that the national sacrifices provided by the King 
(2 Chron. xxxi. 3) were, from this time, offered thereon. 
If so, individual and occasional sacrifices of peace- or sin- 
offerings would also be presented there. The whole 
establishment of priests and Levites engaged in this work 
would thus be transferred, from before the new Tabernacle, 
to the place which the Lord had chosen. This involved, 
further, that as all offerings were required to be * blown 
over' by trumpets (Numbers x. 10), a constant service 
of priests would be in attendance there, to make the blasts, 
and to sprinkle the blood upon and at the foot of the altar. 

An entirely new situation had thus arisen in the 
conduct of the public worship of the chosen people. The 
site of the threshing-floor, being without the city, left 
it an unenclosed or but lightly-enclosed space. The 
miracle so unexpectedly wrought there made it, in 
a moment, a place of the utmost sanctity, and required 
it to be guarded, day and night, against the intrusion 
of unclean animals and the defilements of man. No eyes 
but those of the chosen priests and worshippers might 
gaze on an altar of Judaism, or on its attendant sacrifices. 

If at this time a Levitical guard were appointed, it 
could be stationed only according to the points of the 
compass, as there was no enclosure- wall, and there were 
no gates. 

This accordingly was what was done. We have in 



76 THE TABERNACLE. 

1 Chron. xxvi. an account of some rearrangement of 
sanctuary - guards which can apply only to this period 
of history and to these special circumstances. Appoint- 
ments of Levitical guards were made by lot, northward, 
southward, eastward, and westward. To these several 
directions ' courses ' of doorkeepers were apportioned, 
who held wards one over against another. 

As we examine the lists of these, we discover that 
they were composed largely of the same families and men 
as had previously been detailed to serve the Jerusalem 
Tabernacle in the same capacity, the transfer of the 
whole body of guards being apparently complete, the 
number being at the same time increased. The total 
of 96 was thus made up : — 

Obed-Edom and 62 others 63 

Meshelemiah and 18 others ... 19 
Hosah and 13 others 14 

96 
Of the three 'chief men,' Obed-Edom and Hosah 
have already been before us as chief porters on Ophel. 
In the third case, Shelemiah, or Meshelemiah, appears 
as one of the sons of Asaph, with a contingent from 
that family (1 Chron. xxvi. 1). This is what we should 
anticipate when we remember the close connection of 
Asaph with the Tabernacle built by David. 

These 96 persons were divided into four courses under 
as many captains, Zechariah, the son of Shelemiah, 
being chosen for the fourth officer, as being 'a discreet 
counsellor.' 



THREE CENTRES OF WORSHIP. 77 

Their stations were : — 

Eastward Shelemiah 

Northward Zechariah 1 

Southward Obed-Edom 

Westward ... ... ... Hosah 

In giving us these statements the chronicler adds 
several particulars of his own knowledge as to 'the 
storehouses,' ' the Parbar/ and ' the Causeway,' which 
are intended to be explanatory of the various places 
held by the Levitical watchers during the standing of 
Solomon's Temple. These items are the work of a post- 
restoration editor, and on that account are not to be 
rejected as untrue, but accepted as supplementary. An 
unaltered early record was here evidently ' written over,' 
later material being incorporated. 

15. There were, during the last years of the reign of 
David, three centres of worship in Israel. At Gibeon 
was the original Tent and altar. On Ophel was the 
tent prepared by David, with its sacred depositum of 
the Ark, before which incense was burned daily. On 
Moriah was the new altar consecrated by the command 
and deed of Jehovah. 

When the prohibition came to David that he was not 
to build the Temple behind the altar, he set himself to 
make complete preparations for its erection by his son. 

1 In an historical parenthesis of two and a half verses, written by a post- 
restoration scribe, Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, is said to have been 
porter of the door of the tent of meeting (1 Chron. ix. 19 b , 20, 21), thus 
confirming the above, and showing the persistence with which the term ' door 
of the tent of meeting ' was applied to the northern or sacrificial gate. 



78 THE TABERNACLE. 

The national unity, as well as the national faith, 
required the supercession of rival tabernacles and altars, 
and the aged king did what lay in his power to hasten 
the erection of the Temple. 

A great step was taken when the question of site had 
been settled and partially occupied. As the Temple was 
to stand to the west of the altar, all such matters as 
levels, areas, and drainage could be taken into account 
in the preparation of drawings and specifications. That 
there were such will cause no shock of incredulity to 
those who are acquainted with the elaborate preparations 
made by the architects and artists of antiquity. Not 
only were such prepared, by David's orders, but care- 
fully compiled bills of quantities were drawn up, in 
which the weight of gold and of silver for all the 
plate and furniture to be used in the new Temple was 
set down, item by item (1 Chron. xxviii. 14-18). 

The drawings of the plans (called the ' pattern ') 
included these separate items : — 

1. The pattern of the porch, with 

(a) The houses thereof, 

(b) The treasuries thereof, 

(c) The upper rooms thereof. 

2. The pattern of the inner chambers, one being, 

The house of the Mercy-Seat, or Holy of Holies. 

3. The pattern of the courts of the house, with 

(d) The chambers round about, 

(e) The treasuries of the House of God, 
(/) The treasuries of the dedicated things. 

(1 Chron. xxviii. 11-12.) 



DAVID'S PLANS FOR THE TEMPLE. 79 

1. By the first of these we are to understand the design 
or plan for the porch of 120 cubits ( = 144 feet) in 
height. 

(a) By the 'houses' or rooms 'thereof/ is intended 
a ro}^al oratory over the porch entrance, with an attic 
above it, in which was stored, at one time, the wine 
offered with all peace-offerings (Jeremiah xxxv. 1-5). 

(b) The treasuries of the porch were two small rooms 
with thick walls, one on either side of the porch entrance- 
hall (called ' the entry of the house,' 2 Chron. iv. 22), 
in which were kept the golden and silver vessels of the 
sanctuary (1 Kings vii. 51). These included the furniture 
of the altar, and were under the immediate care of the 
High-priest and his deputies. 1 

(c) By the upper rooms of the Temple we are to 
understand the two attics over the two holy chambers, 
and of the same floor-area as they. In Herod's Temple 
they were divided by a low railing, below the ceiling 
of the roof, which may have been the continuation of 
a precedent. 

2. The inner chambers were the pronaos and the 
adytum, known as the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. 
The latter of these was a cube of 24 feet, and the former 
a double cube of the same dimensions. 

3. The transfer of thought in verse 12, from the central 
and main building to the surrounding structures, is 

1 A somewhat similar plan was afterwards adopted in the Parthenon, which 
was finished in 438 b.c. The Temple proper was divided, by pillars, into 
three parts. In the western of these small chambers were kept vessels for use 
in the sacred processions, with articles of gold and silver. It became the 
Treasury or State Bank of Athens. 



80 THE TABERNACLE. 

marked by another introduction, in the words 'And the 
pattern of all that he had by the Spirit.' 

The first of these to be mentioned is the ' pattern of 
the courts of the house,' by which we understand the 
arrangement of one court, called the priest's or inner court, 
within another court, called the people's or outer court. 
Such was the interior disposition of the enclosed ground- 
area upon which the Temple stood, as will appear later. 

(d) By the ' chambers round about ' are intended the 
three stories of thirty priests' chambers that were built 
outside the side walls of the Temple and of the Oracle 
(1 Kings vi. 5-6). These are spoken of as being a portion 
of the court, and not of the Temple itself — a fact which 
was emphasized in Ezekiel's Temple-plan by their having 
separate walls adjoining those of the sanctuary, and in 
Solomon's by the ceiling beams resting free. As they 
were for the use of man, and not a part of the dwelling- 
place of the Most High, they are appropriately ranged as 
a part of one of the courts. 

(e) The treasuries of the House of God were wholly 
distinct from those of the Temple, already mentioned. 
They were the storehouses, the outward care of which 
was committed to the sons of Obed-Edom, and described 
as being on the southward side of the Temple area 
(1 Chron. xxvi. 15, 17). Possibly built by David during 
his lifetime, as their being separately guarded would 
imply, 1 their contents were placed in the care of 

1 From the statement that King Hezekiah had store-chambers, to contain 
the tithes, built within the enclosed area of the Temple (2 Chron. xxxi. 11), 
it may be inferred that till his time they had stood without that enclosure 



DESCENDANTS OF MOSES. 81 

Shebuel, representative of Gershom, the eldest son of 
Moses (1 Chron. xxvi. 24). In them was stored the corn 
and wine and oil which were paid as tithes by the whole 
nation, and which formed so large a part of the sus- 
tenance of priests and Levites. It was the plan of these 
erections, together with their place in the court, that 
David gave to Solomon, as 'the pattern of the treasuries 
of the House of God/ These structures are afterwards 
mentioned by Nehemiah as being the ' storehouses of the 
Gates ' (Nehemiah xii. 25). 

(/) The treasuries of dedicated things were two 
chambers similar to the last described, in which were 
placed all the spoil won in battle from the time of Joshua 
and after. The references to this will be found in 
Numbers xxxi. 21-23, 51-54, and 1 Chron. xxvi. 26-28. 

These chambers when built were placed under the care 
of Shelomoth, the lineal descendant of Eliezer, the second 
son of Moses. In this way did later generations honour 
the memory of their great lawgiver. The care of the 
outside property of the Temple was thus uniformly com- 
mitted to the Levites, and over the whole of the chambers, 
the contents of which were committed to the sons of 
Moses, was placed a chief treasurer named Ahijah, also 
a Levite (1 Chron. xxvi. 20). It was not he who wrote the 
book of the acts of Solomon mentioned in 2 Chron. ix. 29. 
The scribe is described as a Shilonite, or resident of 
Shiloh (1 Kings xiv. 2), and therefore an Ephraimite, 
while the superintendent of the treasuries was a Levite. 

and to the south of it. In the Herodian Temple they occupied the four 
corners of the Treasury Court, which lay to the south of the Temple. 



82 THE TABERNACLE. 

The tribal affinities of these three families of Levites 
(as already given) are confirmed by the statement of 
1 Chron. xxvi. 19, that the courses of the doorkeepers 
were * of the Korahites and the sons of Merari/ Obed- 
Edom being a Korahite, of the family of Koran, and 
Shemaiah and Hosah being Merarites. 

It is probable that, at the first, the altar on tbe 
threshing-floor was guarded by a single sentinel on each 
of its four sides, the captain for each side furnishing 
these in rotation out of the twenty-four men of which 
his guard consisted. Or, the Jewish month being one 
of four weeks, each course may have furnished the guards 
for a single week in turn. As, however, the Temple 
service became more elaborate with Solomon's erection, 
the number of guards on duty at the same time was 
increased to twenty -four. It is the stations of this 
enlarged guard that are detailed by the chronicler. 
A curious error of some copyist occurs in the first two 
words of verse 16, chapter xxvi., the last word of the 
previous verse being repeated, and the corrected sentence 
reading 'To Hosah westward/ The twenty-four guards 
on duty in the Temple of Herod, with their stations, are 
given in the Mischna, and will be referred to in due 
course. This number was continued from the time of 
Solomon's Temple to the destruction of the Temple by 
Titus, and is that given by the chronicler, at the 
restoration, as a matter of previous history (1 Chron. 
xxvi. 12-19). 

16. I. From the two -verse recapitulation of the 



SOLOMON BECOMES KING. 83 

buildings to be erected it is evident that it is an in- 
complete summary of them. It is so for two reasons. 
One, because it does not include any docket of state 
erections or royal dwellings. The bouse of the forest 
of Lebanon, the palaces that Solomon built for himself 
and Pharaoh's daughter, and the hall of justice or 
judgment are not included. Civic conveniences and 
state requirements were not classed with Divine ap- 
pointments. Another reason may be that the roll of 
the patterns given to Solomon may have contained 
ground-plans and drawings of the courts and their 
surrounding erections. The plan of Gudea's palace 
(v. Plate, p. 142), dating back to nearly twenty centuries 
before David's day, may suffice to show how such outline- 
drawings were prepared. Not only were these drawings 
and building-specifications complete, but the weight of 
the precious metals for every item of furniture was 
calculated. We know that, in place of the single 
seven-branched candlestick in the Tabernacle, ten such 
candlesticks were made (1 Kings vii. 49). Beside these, 
a new golden altar of incense and ten tables of shew- 
bread were constructed. Also the gold-plating for the 
two olive-wood cherubim, which flanked the ark, was 
estimated for. All the gold and silver for these articles 
of furniture was duly estimated and provided. The ark 
of the Covenant alone remained unrenewed. 

The last official act of David's reign was to hand over 
these documents to Solomon in a national assembly of the 
heads of the people, with solemn charges to him and to 
them to carry out the work of building the Temple with 



84 THE TABERNACLE. 

courage and zeal. On the next day, amid great religious 
festivities, Solomon was, a second time, anointed king, 
and assumed the reins of government. 

II. Amongst the papyri or parchments handed to the 
youthful sovereign on this memorable day was one con- 
taining nominal lists of the courses of the priests and 
Levites, who should do all the work of the service of the 
house of the Lord on its completion (1 Chron. xxviii. 13). 

The preparation of this record involved immense labour, 
and was accomplished when David was old and full of 
days. Of even greater age was Zadok, from Gibeon, 
and with them was young Ahimelech, son of Abiathar 
(1 Chron. xxiv. 3). 

(a) The succession to the High -priesthood in the new 
Temple was left undetermined and untouched. It was 
solved, as we know, by the deposition of Abiathar, soon 
after Solomon's accession. 

(b) The priests were scheduled, and it was found that 
there were many more of one family than of the other. 
In the division into twenty-four courses the lots were so 
cast as to effect a complete amalgamation of the rival 
hierarchies. Two lots were taken from the house of 
Eleazar, and, alternately, one from the house of Ithamar. 
The name of the prince of each course is given in 
1 Chron. xxiv. Three of these were known by the same 
names in the time of Nehemiah (1 Chron. ix. 10, and 
Nehemiah xi. 11). 

(c) The Levites were similarly divided into an equal 
number of courses for rotation in service. Of these 



TEMPLE SERVICE ORGANIZED. 85 

courses nine were formed of Gershonites, nine of 
Kohathites, and six of Merarites. Each of the courses 
consisted of a thousand men. Their duties are denned as 
those of tithe-gatherers, police, cooks, weighers, sweepers 
and cleaners (1 Chron. xxxiiL 28-32, and Nehemiah 
xii. 44-47). 

(d) The singers, again, were divided into twenty-four 
courses of twelve members each. These were chosen for 
their fitness for this work, and not by their descent alone. 
Fourteen of the sections were Kohathites, six Merarites, 
and four Gershonites. In the Temple built after the 
Captivity, to the singers were assigned certain chambers 
attached to the Temple, it being explained that they 
dwelt in the chambers, for they were employed in their 
work day and night (I Chron. ix. 33). The number of 
twelve to each choir was retained. The Asaphite choir 
of 2 Chron. xxxv. 15 is to be understood as being so 
named after its founder. 

The way in which these several courses of priests, 
Levites, and singers rotated in service was dependent 
upon the peculiar division of time amongst the Hebrews. 
Their months were lunar, twelve of which were reckoned 
to each year, with an intercalary month, called a second 
Adar, inserted now and again to keep the seasons. Seven 
such were required every nineteen years. 

Each of the several twenty-four courses was on duty 
for a single week at a time, the exchanges taking place 
at noon on the Sabbath. An illustrative use made of this 
custom may be seen in the account of the revolution 
under Jehoiada, which owed its military success largely 



86 THE TABERNACLE. 

to the fact of there being two courses of priests and 
Levites in the Temple at the same hour (2 Kings xi. 9). 

In this way each course undertook duty twice in forty- 
eight weeks, the occasional insertion of an intercalary 
month providing variety, so that in the course of a few 
years every set of courses would attend at each of the 
four seasons. 

(e) As the number of Levites was in excess of those 
required for the interior service of the sanctuary, others 
were appointed doorkeepers, to the number of four 
thousand. These were chosen exclusively from the clan 
of Merari and from the family of Korah the Kohathite, 
to which Obed-Edom belonged. It is not stated in the 
contemporary histories that the porters attended in 
courses. On the restoration we find that the four chief 
porters, who were Levites, had their lodging round about 
the house of God, and their brethren in their villages 
were to come in every seven days from time to time to 
be with them (1 Chron. ix. 25-27). The number on 
duty every day is given by the Talmud at 240, ten being 
detailed for each of the twenty -four stations in the Herodian 
Temple. It is, therefore, evident that there must have 
been some system of relief by which a part only of the 
4,000 l porters should be on duty at once. It was their d uty 
to see that no one ceremonially impure should be admitted 
into the court of the sanctuary (2 Chron. xxiv. 19). 

A writer in Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (art. 
Genealogy, iii. 20) finds a difficulty in the fact that 

1 Each of the four chief doorkeepers thus had the command of a thousand 
assistants. This would allow of 40 for each of 25 weeks. 



COURTS OF LAW READJUSTED. 87 

Jehdeiah and Isshiah, chief men of the sons of Amram, 
father of Moses, were the contemporaries of the descendants 
of Moses, who were the rulers of the treasuries. This 
difficult) 7 is obviated if it be observed that these two men 
were the heads of ' the rest of the sons of Levi ' (1 Chron. 
xxiv. 20) after the principal appointments had been made. 

(/) Of the surplus of 14,000, six thousand others 
became officers and judges. 1 By the Law of Moses judges 
and officers were to be appointed in every Levitical city of 
the tribes (Deut. xvi. 18), and, from the blessing of Moses, 
the tribe of Levi was to ' Teach Jacob thy judgements 
and Israel thy law ' (compare Deut. xxi. 5 and xxxiii. 10). 

The appointment of these 6,000 was not, therefore, 
a new thing, but a reconstruction of the personal 
machinery of the Law. In the days of Kehemiah, 
Levites are described as having the oversight of the 
outward business of the house of God (Nehemiah. xi. 16), 
which would include the administration of law as well as 
the collection of tithes. 

It is interesting to note that Chenaniah, the chief 
Levite, who conducted the music when the ark was 
brought to Jerusalem (1 Chron. xv. 22), was now, with 
his sons, appointed over this great department of State 
(1 Chron. xxvi. 29). 

(g) Four thousand others were appointed instrumental 
musicians, and were thus completely separated from 
the singers, and given an inferior position. They were 

1 Counting eastern and western Manasseh as two tribes, this would give 
an average of 500 Levites for legal purposes to each tribe. Each minor 
court consisted of not less than seven persons. 



88 THE TABERNACLE. 

not divided into courses, and it is supposed that their 
services in the Temple were voluntary and occasional. l 
Of course, like other Levites, they had their share in 
the Temple offerings when there, and their right to a plot 
of land in one of the cities of the Levites. 

17. JSTot only was the personnel of the priesthood 
reformed before David's abdication ; the land held by 
them was also subjected to revision. 

By Joshua's direction twelve cities had been set apart 
for the Aaronites, and an average of twelve others for 
each of the three clans of Levi, forty-eight in all. 

Of these, six were cities of refuge, to afford protection 
to those who were guilty of homicide, as distinguished 
from murder. For the purposes of easy access these 
towns were selected principally for their central 
situations. According to the direction of Deut. xix. 3, 
three were on the east and three on the west of the 
Jordan. Those on the east were first chosen, and, later, 
three others on the west, the positions of which were 
as nearly as possible in line with those on the east. 
Thus, Bezer in the wilderness (Joshua xx. 8) was 
paralleled by Hebron. The ruins of Kusur Beshaer 
are three miles south-west of Dibon, and lie on the 
north bank of the river Arnon. The Arnon was the 
northern boundary of Moab at the time of the conquest, 

1 Referring to the Herodian Temple, Edersheim says, ' The number of 
instrumental performers was not limited, nor yet confined to the Levites, 
some of the distinguished families which had intermarried with the priests 
being admitted to the service ' (The Temple, p. 143). The instruments used 
were cymbals, psalteries, and harps (2 Chron. xxix. 25). 



ECCLESIASTICAL TOWNS REVISED. 89 

but in the time of Jeremiah (xlviii. 24), after the fall of 
Samaria and the captivity of eastern tribes, under the 
name Bozrah, 1 Bezer belonged to Moab. It is mentioned 
on the Moabite Stone as having been rebuilt by Mesha. 

The two central refuge cities were Shechem in the 
west and Ramoth-in-Gilead in the division of Gad 
( = Reimun), on nearly the same parallel of latitude. 

The two northern refuge towns were Kedesh-in- Galilee 
( = Kades) and Golan in Bashan. As a possible site 
for Golan, Dr. Merrill suggests es Sanamein on the Haj 
pilgrim-road, and in the proper latitude. 

Of these six towns Hebron was occupied by priests 
and Kohathite Levites, Shechem by Kohathites, Golan 
and Kedesh by Gershonites, and Bezer and Bamoth by 
Merarites. ~No change in any of them was carried out at 
the time of David's revision. 

(a) Twelve other towns, in the divisions of Judah, 
Simeon, and Benjamin, were set apart, at the occupation, 
to be inhabited by the families of the sons of Aaron, 
known later as Aaronites. The only indication we have of 
the number of their inhabitants is that given at the time 
of David's removal from Hebron to Jerusalem, when we 
are told that nine hundred men of the house of Aaron 
under Zadok, afterwards High - priest, came to make 
David king. 

If we except some slight changes of name, as Hilen for 
Holon, Allemeth for Almon, there are but two or three 
alterations in them at the time of David. One is the 

1 That Bezer was also known as Bozrah is confirmed by Eusebius 
(Onom. 232). There was a second Bozrah in Bashan. 



90 THE TABERNACLE. 

substitution of Ashan for Ain, in the land of Simeon. 
These places were neighbouring towns near to Beersheba 
(Joshua xix. 7). 

Another modification of Joshua's list is of greater 
significance ; it is that of the omission of Gibeon as a city 
of the priests, with no substitute. In this severe treat- 
ment we have one certain result of Saul's attempt to make 
Gibeon the capital city. Its complete supercession as a 
sacred place is strong evidence of that intention, as no 
other reason of sufficient weight can be found to have 
caused so violent and unparalleled a disturbance of the 
long-existing order. The removal of the priests' families 
from Gibeon would largely diminish its relative import- 
ance in the cities of Israel, and was also in the nature of 
a punishment inflicted upon them, as having been parties 
to Saul's policy of local aggrandisement. Juttah in Judah 
was also abandoned, as the division of Judah had an 
undue number of sacerdotal cities, and the scheme of 
reduction was to take two cities from the priests and four 
from the Levites. 

(b) This diminution of two in the number of the 
priestly towns was accompanied by some similar cases in 
the Levitical cities, though the causes of the reduction in 
their case are more obscure. The capture of Jerusalem, 
and its coming importance as the prospective place of 
the Temple, would bring a large number of priests and 
Levites into it, and would thus contribute to the desira- 
bility of lessening the number of Levitical towns on the 
new register. 

Another political change which had occurred within 



BEDUCTION OF PEIESTLY TOWNS. 91 

the past three centuries was that, during the time of the 
Judges, the small tribe of Dan, originally located about 
the seaboard of Joppa, had removed to the northern Dan 
lying near the sources of the Jordan. The tribe consisted 
of but a single clan, the patriarch Dan having had but 
one son. 1 

The 600 men who went to form the settlement at 
Laish were probably the bulk of the tribes' manhood, but 
some families must have remained at home, as Samson's 
exploits were subsequent to the migration. In the south, 
the tribe gradually declined in numbers, though it is not 
correct to say, as does a writer in Hastings' Dictionary 
{art. Dan), that the tribe is * omitted from the genealogies 
of the Chronicles.' Hushim is there named (I Chron. 
vii. 12), and in his proper place in the order of the tribes, 
Judah being named first as that of the Tribe of David, 
and Benjamin last as that of the ex- royal family of Saul. 

The vacant territory of Dan, never more than partially 
conquered, was occupied in part by the Philistines and 
in part by the tribe of Ephraim (Judges i. 34, 35). As 
a consequence we find that when David rearranged the 
Levitical cities the name of Dan is not mentioned, and 
those of Ephraim are introduced with the enigmatical 
sentence, ' Some of the families of the sons of Kohath had 
cities of their border [taken] out of the tribe of Ephraim ' 
(1 Chron. vi. 66). The hidden reference here is to the 
fact that of the four Kohathite towns formerly attributed 

1 ' Shuham ' in Numbers xxvi. 42 is the result of a simple transposition 
of the letters of Hushim (Genesis xlvi. 23). In 1 Chron. vii. 12 there is 
a scornful reference to idolatrous Dan in ' Aher ' as < Another one. ' 



92 THE TABERNACLE. 

to the tribe of Ban, two, Eltekeh and Gibbethon, entirely 
disappear, and two, Aijalon and Gatb-rimmon, are included 
in those of Ephraim. 

Another change in the Ephraimite towns of the 
Kohathites was the substitution of Jokneam, at the 
eastern foot of Mount Carmel, for Kibzaim, a town in 
the south of the tribe, mentioned with Gezer * and 
Bethhoron (Joshua xxi. 22), and which had probably 
fallen into the hands of the Philistines, or been destroyed 
by war. 

At its first mention, Jokmeam (called Jokneam, 
Joshua xxi. 34, now Tell Keimun) appears as a border 
town of Zebulun, and was given to the Merarites. It 
was now, by David, transferred to Ephraim, being on 
their boundary, and given to the Kohathites. Ephraim 
thus gained an extension of territory to the north as well 
as to the south, this being one of many indications of the 
growing power of that tribe. 

In the adjoining division of western Manasseh, the 
Kohathite towns of Taanach (Joshua xxi. 25) and Gath- 
rimmon were replaced by Aner (= Ellar), north-west 
of Shechem, and Ibleam (Joshua xvii. 11), the modern 
Tebla, five miles north of Bethshan. 

The number of towns in the occupation of the Kohathites 
was thus reduced from ten to eight, the two Danite towns 
of Elteke, the Eltekeh of Joshua xix. 44, and Gibbethon, 

1 Gezer was a city of the Kohathite Levites, now known as Tell Jezer, 
lying between the road and the rail from Jaffa to Jerusalem. A rock 
inscription has been found here, the translation of which is, * The boundary 
of Gezer.' As Gezer was a walled town (1 Kings ix. 17), this inscription 
should measure 500 yards from the wall of the city. 



REDUCTION OF KOHATHITE TOWNS. 93 

modern Ras-el-Ain, being finally lost to them and, for the 
time, to the nation. 1 

(c) The thirteen towns given by Joshua to the sons 
of Gershon remained unaltered in number to the time 
of Solomon. A comparison of the early list with that 
of the monarchy shows, as might be expected, some 
changes in name. Thus : — 

1. Be-eshterah (Josh. xxi. 27) (= House of Ashtoreth) 
becomes Ashtaroth (1 Chron. vi. 71). It was formerly 
one of the royal cities of Og, King of Bashan, and its 
remains are known as Tell 'Ashterah, twenty miles 
east of the Sea of Tiberias. 

2. Kishion in Issachar becomes Kedesh, on the west 
side of the plain of Megiddo. 

3. Mishal in Asher becomes Mashal, now Ufaisleh, to 
the north of the Bay of Acre. 

4. Hammoth-dor in Naphtali becomes Hammon, the 
famous hot springs at the south of the Lake of 
Gennesaret. 

5. Kartan in Naphtali becomes Kiriathaim, the 
meaning in each case being ' double city ' ; to the 
west of the Sea of Tiberias, but undiscovered. 

A more serious clerical alteration than any of these 
is a copyist's miswriting of Jarmuth for Ramoth in 
Joshua xxi. 29. 

There was a place of this name in the Shephelah of 

1 Nadab, the second king of Israel, attempted to wrest Gibbethon from 
the Philistines, and was assassinated while besieging it (1 Kings xv. 27)* 
The siege was raised by Omri (1 Kings xvi. 15-17). 



94 THE TABERNACLE. 

Judah (Joshua xv. 35), the ruins of which are at Yarmuk^ 
to the north of Socoh. The Ramoth intended is a town 
in Issachar, many leagues to the north. Its site has been 
recovered at er-Edmeh, between Samaria and Dothan. It 
is the Remeth of Joshua xix. 21. 

Another town replaced in Issachar was En-gannim 
( = fountain of gardens), the Jemn of to-day, which 
gave place to Anem ( = two springs), and is represented 
by the modern village of Anin, on the hills to the west 
of the great plain. 

Also Hukok, the modern Yakuk, to the west of 
Capernaum, in the territory of Naphtali, took the place 
of Helkath in the territory of Asher (= Yerka). The 
Gershonites' thirteen cities therefore remained un- 
diminished in number, but six of them lay in the two 
most northerly tribes on the west, and two in far-off 
Bashan on the east. As the Levites were the officers 
of the Law and Judges in all the Tribes, it was necessary 
that the old Jacobean prophecy should be fulfilled, and 
that they should be divided in Jacob and scattered in 
Israel (Genesis xlix. 7). In this way the civilizing 
effects of law were everywhere present, and the temporary 
residence of Levites in all the cities of Israel tended to 
diminish the pressure of population in their own towns. 

(d) Coming, lastly, to the twelve cities of the Merarites, 
we note that of these eight were in Eastern Palestine — 
four in the division of Reuben and four in that of Gad. 
These towns remained unaltered, in number and in name, 
from the days of the conquest to those of the monarchy — 
if we except the slight alteration of Jahaz into Jahzah, 



REDUCTION OF MERARITE TOWNS. 95 

the site of the nation's earliest victory after the crossing 
of the Arnon (Deut. ii. 32). 

As a counterbalance to this semi-expatriation of more 
than half their number, the Merarites had the remaining 
four cities of their clan amid the fertile hills and valleys 
around Nazareth and to the north of the plain of Megiddo. 
This was the territory of Zebuiun, and for some reason 
which cannot now be divined David and his assessors 
made a complete change in the Merarite holdings in this 
division. 

Jokneam was built on the south bank of the river 
Kishon, this being 'the brook that is before Jokneam' 
(Joshua xix. 11). The ford of the river was always the 
boundary between the tribes of Zebuiun and Issachar. 
The effect of this has already been pointed out in making 
Jokneam a town of the Kohathites, and transferring it 
to Ephraim. 

The three Merarite towns which, by Joshua's allocation, 
remained, were : Kartah (the Kattath of Joshua xix. 15), 
now Kana, nine miles north of Nazareth ; Dimnah, 
which, from not being mentioned as one of the twelve 
towns of Zebuiun (Joshua xix. 10-16), is wrongly thought 
to have been Rimmon ; and Nahalal, now Ain Mahil, in 
the same range of hills as Nazareth. 

In place of these we have Rimmono, in the same 
division, built at a river-pass to the north of Cana-in- 
Galilee, now Bumm&neh, and Tabor, showing a reduction 
of one in the number of the exchanges. 

Tabor was one of the sixteen cities of Issachar, and 
was built on the top of the well-known hill of that name, 



96 THE TABERNACLE. 

six miles east of Nazareth. There are still to be seen on 
its summit, scattered in indiscriminate confusion, walls, 
arches, and foundations (apparently of dwelling-houses), 
all of which are surrounded by the remains of a thick 
wall. This was the city newly given to the Merarites 
out of the country of Issachar, in place of two others 
in Zebulun of which they were deprived. 

Of the four towns in Zebulun originally granted to 
them, but one remained, Rimmon or Rimmono ; another 
was transferred to a neighbouring country, a third was 
chosen from a contiguous division, and one was altogether 
dropped. The net result was that the total number of 
cities occupied by the Merarites was reduced from twelve 
to ten. 

(e) Omitting the six cities of refuge and the twelve 
priestly towns as being (with the omissions of Gribeon and 
Juttah) unchanged, the thirty purely Levitical cities were, 
by David and his advisers, reduced to twenty -six in 
number. This reduction of four x would greatly facilitate 
the work of revision, as it would be easier to remove 
a body of Levites from any locality, and to give the 
land and houses to the laity, than it would be to reverse 
the process. In the four cases where this was done, Aner, 
Bileam, Hukkok, and Tabor, the removal of the original 
Israelites to other sites was accompanied by giving them 
the vacated towns of Kibzaim, Taanach, Gath-rimmon, 
Helkath, Kartah, and Nahalal, the transfer from Engannim 
to Anem being probably to an unoccupied site. 

1 The superseded towns were Aijalon and Gath-rimmon of Dan, Kibzaim 
of Ephraim, and ISahalal of Zebulun. 



DISCONTENT REMOVED. 97 

The whole process shows that, in the opinion of the 
authorities, the Levites had been enjoying an undue 
share of the national property. If we look at the number 
of Canaanite towns distributed after the conquest, we 
shall be struck by a seemingly great anomaly. Several 
of the tribal divisions are given in their boundaries only, 
and we cannot tell how many towns these boundaries 
enclosed. 

In seven of the eleven divisions the number of cities 
contained in each is given in totals. These numbered in 
all 227 towns or agricultural hamlets, solitary farmsteads 
being unknown in Palestine. Of these 227 towns, 34 were 
given either to the priests or Levites, being nearly one- 
sixth of the whole, instead of one-eleventh. 

This undue disproportion is, however, lessened by the 
fact that the Levitical towns had a limited commonage 
attached to each, of from 500 to 1,000 yards in circum- 
ference, which was not the case in other collections of 
houses. The idea evidently was that the priests and 
Levites should approximate to the urban rather than to 
the rural type of character, and represent a higher culture 
and civilization. 

"With the growth of the nation and an increased 
pressure of population, popular discontent at such an 
arrangement was sure to arise. It was in order to meet 
this and to leave no seeds of dissatisfaction in the people's 
minds that David carried out his revision of the Church's 
property, and reduced the Levitical and priestly towns 
from 48 in number to 42, which is the total of the names 
in 1 Chron. vi. 



98 THE TABERNACLE. 

In this way he hoped to prepare for the peaceful reign 
of his son, then about 18 years of age. The removal 
of these grievances against the ecclesiastics would be 
possible to their veteran leader, and might not be so to 
his successor, while his well-known and tried sympathy 
with the clergy of his day would render acceptable to 
them changes that would be sure to be resented as 
coming from Solomon. 

These are the motives with which we may credit 
David in his difficult and gigantic task. All was done in 
preparation for, and in anticipation of, the building of the 
Temple, and of the contented labour in it of the 38,000 
Levites (1 Chron. xxiii. 3) whom the census had revealed, 
all of whom were, in one department or another, called 
to its service. 

18. It was with a statesman's prescience that David 
made these various preparations for the government 
of the country after his decease. A large share of 
the financial prosperity and political progress that 
characterized Solomon's reign is to be credited to him. 
The changes and developments initiated by him were 
gradually introduced. Thus the geographical changes 
and the reorganization of the legal work of the country 
was probably carried out during the first three years of 
Solomon's reign, and before the work of building the 
Temple had begun. 

During these years an event of family history occurred 
which had large consequences. It was the request by 
Adonijah for Abishag the Shunamite. This at once 



HIGH-PRIESTHOOD SETTLED. 99 

aroused the somewhat unreasoning wrath of Solomon, 
and was followed by the immediate execution of Adonijah 
and Joab, 1 and by the deposition of Abiathar, who was 
banished to his estate at Anathoth. With him his son 
Ahimelech disappears from the page of history. 

It was the daily duty of the High-priest to burn 
incense before the ark of the Covenant at the time of 
the morning and evening sacrifice, the while the priests 
without blew with silver trumpets till the burnt-offerings 
were consumed (2 Chron. xxix. 28). It is apparent that 
by the summary discharge of Abiathar this principal duty 
could no longer be performed, as, till the time of the 
Maccabees, no other than the High-priest performed this 
duty. In New Testament times it was discharged by 
a priest chosen daily by lot (Luke i. 10). 

It does not seem that Abiathar had anything to do 
with the request of Adonijah, though he had been 
implicated in his previous attempt to seize the throne 
(1 Kings i. 27). His dismissal from office was, therefore, 
an act of State policy, as it solved the difficulty of there 
being a dual High-priesthood in Israel. 



1 As Joab's mother was David's sister, he was cousin to Solomon. His 
violent death at the altar raised a strong feeling of revulsion amongst the 
members of his own family and clan. These were descendants of Shelah, 
eldest surviving son of Judah (1 Chron. iv. 21). Owing to the feeling 
engendered, a number of them migrated to Moab, where they rose to power, 
and are said to have 'had dominion.' The migration must have been that 
of a considerable body, as on the restoration, several centuries later, 2,812 
returned, 'children of Pahath-Moab ( = governor of Moab), of the children 
of Jeshua and Joab' (Ezra ii. 6). Two hundred others returned from 
Babylon with Ezra (viii. 4) . In these lists the Shilonite family of Pahath- 
Moab is uniformly associated with others of the tribe of Judah. 



100 THE TABERNACLE. 

For a short time the service of burning incense in the 
Tabernacle must have been discontinued, as Zadok served 
the Tabernacle at Gibeon, where, however, there was no 
golden altar, and incense was not offered. 

In this crisis it would seem that a resolution was taken 
to close the worship at Gibeon, but to do so with all 
the wealth of ceremony and of sacrifice of which the 
case admitted. 

Solomon himself attended the closing services, and 
provided a thousand burnt-offerings for sacrifice (1 Kings 
iii. 4). The Tabernacle was then, presumably, taken 
down and carried to Jerusalem, where its golden furniture 
furnished models for similar articles to be constructed by 
Hiram. Having served this purpose, the gold of which 
they were made was doubtless melted down and formed 
a part of the new service ; it being a principle of Hebrew 
ritual that anything once dedicated to the service of 
Jehovah might not be put to any other use. 

When Solomon returned to Jerusalem he presented 
himself before the Tabernacle, standing in the porch 
thereof. At the same time burnt-offerings were made 
on Moriah, for which doubtless Zadok the priest offered 
the necessary incense before the altar of incense. 

Every difficulty had now been overcome. The long 
reign of schism was ended. The time was ripe for the 
building of the Temple. The plans were prepared, the 
Temple service organized, the ground levelled, and on the 
2nd day of the month Zif (= May) the building was begun 
(1 Kings vi. 1). 

Seven years after this the Temple was dedicated to the 



TABERNACLE HISTORY ENDED. 101 

service of Jehovah, by transferring to it, with great pomp 
and sacrificial ceremony, the ark and the tent of meeting 
and all the holy vessels that were in the tent on Ophel 
(1 Kings viii. 4). These last were placed in its treasuries, 
the ark given its place in the innermost sanctuary, while 
the wood of the Tabernacle would be consumed in the 
fires of the great altar. 

Thus, in the tenth year of Solomon's reign, did the 
Tabernacle worship cease : the construction of Moses in 
the wilderness having served the purpose of God, as the 
place of meeting with man, through the space of nearly 
three hundred years. 1 



1 This statement is made upon the conclusion that the 480 years of 
1 Kings vi. 1 date from the descent into Egypt, and not from the Exodus. 

According to the Septuagint the stay of the Israelites in Egypt was one 
of 215 years. This gives an interval, on the basis above suggested, of 
265 years between the Exodus and the founding of the Temple. 

From Egyptian chronology we learn that Eamases II., the Pharaoh of 
the oppression, died b.c. 1281. There were no Israelites in Canaan when 
Eamases III. took Hebron and other towns, b.c. 1250-1230. They would 
be then in the Negeb. 

From Babylonian chronology we get our first fixed biblical date, which 
is the fall of Samaria in 721 b.c. "Working back from this we find that 
Samuel was alive in 1050, and that the Temple was begun about 1016 b.c. 



102 



THE TABERNACLE. 



GENEALOGICAL TABLE 

Or the Family of Aaron, to the opening of Solomon's Temple. 

The names given in capitals are those of men known to have been anointed 
High-priests. 

AAEON 



ELEAZAR 

I 
PH1NEHAS 

ABISHUA 

BUKKI 

I 
TTZZI 

ZERAHIAH 

MERAIOTH (1st) 

AZARIAH (1st) 

Amariah 

Ahitub (Ruler of the 
} House of God) 
Meraioth (2nd) 

ZADOK 



Ithamar 

I 
o 

I 
o 



ELI 

I 
PHINEHAS 

Ahitub 

AHIMELECH (= AHIJAH, AHIAH) 
I (killed by Saul) 

ABIATHARi 



AHIMAAZ 

I 
AZARIAH (2nd) 

JOHANAN 



Shallum 
(= Meshallum) 



I 
Ahimelech 2 (= Abimelech) 



AZARIAH (3rd) * 



"THE SECOISTD PBIEST." 103 

1 Deposed by Solomon (1 Kings ii. 27). 

2 I do not think that the theory of a copyist's thrice -repeated transposition 
of names in 2 Sam. viii. 17, and 1 Chron. xviii. 16 ; xxiv. 6, is tenable, but to 
be based upon a non- apprehension of the official relations which, from early 
times, existed between the High-priest and his eldest son. 

As the slightest accidental defilement — a dream is given in the Talmud as 
an instance — disqualified the actual High-priest from officiating on the great 
day of Atonement and at the festivals, it was necessary to have a second 
High-priest in reserve, prepared to take his place. This place could only be 
taken by his eldest son, as the prospective High-priest. 

There being in the Law no age fixed as that at which the sons of Aaron, in 
the direct line, were to enter upon their duties,* the eldest son of the High- 
priest, when still a young man, was often associated with his father in these 
responsibilities. 

Of this we have an illustration in the case of Abiathar, who in Luke ii. 26 
is spoken of as High -priest, when the contemporary histories leave us in no 
doubt that his father was still alive and held oflice. 

So, again, with Ahimelech, who assisted David in the formation of the 
priestly courses (1 Chron. xxiv. 3). He was the son of the Abiathar just 
mentioned, and was given the name of his murdered grandfather. At the 
time that he was thus engaged, as the representative of the house of Ithamar, 
his father still lived, and survived to the reign of Solomon (1 Kings ii. 27). 
If we reckon a second Ahimelech, who fell, with the deposition of his father, 
under Solomon's edict, there is not any need to alter the text of either Samuel 
or Chronicles, but ' Ahimelech the son of Abiathar ' may stand as David's 
'priest,' i.e. High -priest,, during his father's lifetime. The statement that 
he was so is repeated in 1 Chron. xviii. 16, though in this passage he is 
called Abimelech. 

It is evident that in cases such as these, contributory causes might be the 
ill-health of the senior member of the family, the greater capacity of the 
younger member, and the favour of the reigning sovereign shown toward one 
person rather than another. 

3 ' He it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon built 
in Jerusalem' (1 Chron. vi. 10). 

The Chronicler (1, vi. 4-15), having traced the succession of High-priests 
down to Azariah III. , abruptly ends the line with the above note. In verse 1 1 



* The High-priest Aristobulus, after having ofiiciated in the Temple, was 
murdered by Herod, at the age of 17 (Josephus, War, I. xxii. § 2). 



104 THE TABERNACLE. 

he resumes the line of succession at Azariah I., and traces it through Shallum, 
the second son of Zadok, to the time of the Captivity. This is confirmed by 
the record of Ezra, who was of the High-priestly family of the line of Shallum 
(vii. 1-5). 

From the fact that, for the birthright privileges of Shallum and his 
descendants, the Chronicler went back seven or eight generations (from 
Azariah III. to Azariah I.), the inference may be drawn that it was at that 
point that the line of official descent had been broken in the time of the 
Judges, by the introduction of the line of Ithamar in the person of Eli. 



PART II. 

THE TRIPLE CUBIT OF BABYLONIA, 

WITH RECONSTRUCTION OF THE 
SENKEREH TABLET, 

AND 

RESTORATION OF THE SCALE OF GUDEA. 



GLOSSARY 

OF PRINCIPAL CUNEIFORM CHARACTERS USED IN 
THE SENKEREH TABLET. 



Numerals. 



I — 
TT - 


j . 
2. 


m - 


3- 


??or V 


4. 


w - 


5. 


fflf ... 


6. 


TYTY 

YTY •'• 


7. 


YYY 

m 

VT 


8. 


m 

*w ... 

YYY 


9. 


< - 


10. 


<T - 


11. 


<TT - 


12. 


« - 


20. 


<« - 


.. 30. 


^ ... 


40. 


<<<< ... 


.. 50. 


T - 


60. 



Fraction Signs. 


Jf = 


i 


1 - 


... "third." 


fl - 


... i 


+ ... 


... i 


m - 


... I 


iii ... 


... | 


m - 


- f 


iii ... 


... i 


Value Signs. 


ST ^T 


. . . The Sossus. 


in ... 


3 sossi. 


w - 


... The Palm. 


ST - 


3-palm Ell. 


5?T ... 


... 4-palm Ell. 


S<T ••• 


... 5-palm Ell. 


#^ 


3-ell Reed. 


#0 


. . . 4-ell Reed. 


#« £> 


5-ell Reed. 



Note. — For the differing values 

of the single upright wedge, see the Arithmetical Sign. 

first three columns of Diagram V. 

p. 116. ^S 'and' or plus, 

represented 
by +. 

N.B. — In the subsequent representation of each of the four 
Columns of the Tablet, modern characters corresponding 
with the ancient ones are placed on the page following. 

[107] 



COLUMN I. 



THE SENKEREH 



IDI-A.- 



6. 


5. 


4. 


3. 


2. 


1. 


*IH 


*^TT 




* y 


ET^T 


TTT 


*IH 


tit 




TT 


EfStf 


TTT 


in 


tit. 




TTT 


ET^T 


nT 


IH 


tit 




R 


£T2hT 


TTT 


in 


•m 




TYT 
YY 


IsT^T 


TTT 


m 


-m 




R? 


STh^T 


TTT 


m 


tit 




W? 


ET^T 


TTT 


m 


tit 




* wv 


*ST5=T 


TTT 


in 


tit 




^ wv 
wv 


*I!S 


TTT 


T 




*tit 






YTY 
YYY 


W 




*tit 


TT 


73 © © 


wv 

WV 


H- 




*tit 


TTT 


c3 cc ra 

rt o © 


YW 

WV 

wv 


titt 




*tit 


?? 


o ® © 


< 


TT 




'tit 


W 


0) « cJ 


<TT 


TTT 




*tit 


<TT 


a £3 


/WV 

<f wv 


V 




"tit 


/YYYY 
\YYYY 


. © -S § 


<<?? 


7? 




tit 


«R 


OS 

tS ►*» ^4 

O.V Q 

fit 


<« 


+ 


W 






© © o 


<« 


+ 


w 


T 


^S 


© u 


<«77 


*+ 


w 


*TT 


fTTT 




«« 


*+ 


w 


•m 


tit 


T3 © fl P* 


««w 


+ 


tt; 


•h 


tit 


0) rd 


<«« 


+ 


w 


*YYY 
YY 


tit 




<«Y T Y 
« Y YlT) 


T 






til 


o3 -*> P 
>_ . on ♦» 


T 


T 


•f 




TrJ 


oj +J a> © 


T<« 


*tt 






•Ttf 


1 rt 3 o 
1 *-* w « 


TT 


*TT 


+ 




Ttf 




TT<« 



[108] 



Note.— i. 



The character in parenthesis ( ) in line 27, sub-column I 
is superfluous. 



gkra-mi^. MATHEMATICAL TABLET, obv. 



6 


5. 


4. 


3. 


2. 


1. 


20 r * 


+ 




Lines 

180 j 






Sossi 


^~"~T 


„ 


+ 




2 


„ 


3 


J) 
)) 


+ 
+ 
+ 




3 
4 
5 




> 


3 

3 
3 


J) 


+ 




6 




j 


3 


J) 


+ 

+ 




7 
8 




' 


3 
3 


» 


+ 




9 




> 


3 


10 i 






Soss 




6 


i* 




+ 


2 




8 


it 




+ 


3 




9 


if 




+ 


4 




IO 


2 




+ 


6 




12 


3 




+ 


12 




18 


4 




+ 


18 




24 


5 




+ 


24 




30 


i 

2 


Palm 








30 


1 
2 




18! 


+ 




35 


1 
2 




2 


+ 




40 


1 
2 




3 


+ 




45 


1 
2 




4 


+ 




50 


1 
2 




5 


+ 




55 


I 






Palm 




I 


I 


i 

2 




j> 




I + 30 


II 










II 


II 


1 

2 




)> 




II + 30 



Notes. — 2. The conjectured character in sub-column 4, line 14, Section B, is 
omitted as superfluous. 3. For values of 180 i, 60 3, 10 i, and 12 i, see Diagram V. p. 116. 



L109] 



COLUMN II. 



THE SENKEREH 



IDIA- 



6. & 


5. 


4. 


3. 


2. 


1. 


? 










Y 


VW 

wv 

m 


in 






,2 ^ +2 


YYY 




Uo§« 
C ^ « 








YYY 
YY 
w 
wv 

VV 


<« 


o g 






.2 bau 


< 


<«fflf 








O <D <D 


<yy 


4W 








5 S 


<^7 


y 


,— . oJ 

.2 'Ba 






a <o <o 

O 5h OT 


« 


T<77 


Is "§ 






■g-sT*' 


«w 


n 
n<« 


<U <L> ,- 






.2 s g 

• "^ « 

*^ 

ft ^ k 


<« 


y 










y 


yx? 


> <u ? 
£ ° 

2 62 






•3 « * 


y 


TXYT 

yy 


4) O 

left. 

cS (d ►O G 






eg ^ 


yy 
yyy 


YYxy 








§2 


R 


yyzTf 
yyy 

YTTxy 


a a <u £ 

H 
O 






53 p* a Si 
pq 


W 

YYY 
YYY 

YYY 
YYY 


YYYxty 


£ 






fc 


YYY 
YYV 


yyyy 






i 




YYY 
YYY 


t 




*$^ 






*«)T 


+ 




^ 


•<r>-*~ 




*«)yy 


TtT 




^ 


*-»->_ 




*«)yyy 


m 




^ 


-r-^*~ 




*«>yyy+ 


V 




#* 


*-*->- 




yyyy 


Tit 




^ 


$£>■ 




Wfc 


y + 




^ 


•r^*- 




YYY 
YYY 


yirr 




^ 


££- 




YYY 4jT 


yiy? 




#* 


r^ 




YTYYVh 

yyy4J 


yy 




#* 


*£>- 




YYYY 
YYYY 


►tts 


5ki 


Bff. 


ST 




III 




= Great 


= Medium 


= Small 




= 3 the 


See next 


Ell of 


Ell of 


Ell of 




number of 


page. 


300 Soss. 


240 Soss. 


180 Soss. 




Reeds. 



[no] 



gra** in. MATHEMATICAL TABLET, obv. 



KEY. No.ofSossi. 


6. 


5. 


4. 


3. 


2. 


1. 


3 = 3 x i 


3 










I 


9 = 3 x 3 


9 








1 2§ 


3 


15 = 3* 5 


15 








«3| 


5 


24 = 3 x 8 


24 










8 


30=3 x 10 


30 








s *£ 


10 


36 = 3 x 12 


36 








111 

,Q « ft 


12 


45 = 3* 15 


45 








2 ° • 


15 


60 = 3 x 20 


60 








„ « <u 

7 c-2 <u 


20 


75 = 3 x 25 


75 








52 T3 « 


25 


90= 3 x 30 


90 










30 


1 20 = 3 x 40 


120 








40 


150 = 3 x 50 


150 










50 


180=3 x 60 


1 3 








[IP-] 


1 


240 — 3 x 80 


i* 










[1+] 

1 [digit] 


300 = 3 x 100 


if 










2 „ 


360 = 3x120 


2 








[II P.] 


3 » 


420 = 3 x 140 


2* 










4 » 


480 = 3 x 160 


2| 










5 » 


540= 3 x 180 


3 








[HI PJ 


6 „ 


600 = 3 x 200 


3* 










7 » 


660 = 3 x 220 


03 










8 „ 


720 = 3 x 240 


4 






1 

3 


[IV P.] 


9 » 


180=3 x 60 


1 [of 720] 




$* 


f>- 




I 


360 = 3 x 120 


i 




Reed 


3-EH 




II 


540=3 x 180 


I 




» 






III 


630= 3 x 210 


i 






> 




„ 




in* 


720 = 3 x 240 


I 






j 




„ 




IV 


960= 3 x 320 


I* 










» 




vj 


1,080 = 3 x 360 


If 






, 




>j 




VI 


1,200 = 3 x 400 


If 






) 




u 




Vlf 


1,320 = 3 x 440 


If 






> 




» 




vn* 


1,440 = 3 x 480 


II 






> 




» 


[VIII P.] 


VIII 


2,160 720 






*— — xaiiii — 00 

T =60x5=300 


[Total XII 


Palms.] 


'■ »— 




y =60 X4=240 








8=4° X 


3 = i 


20— 


-72< 


3 X 


3 = 2160. 





[.I.] 



COLUMN III. 



THE SENKEREH 



IDIA.- 



6. 


5. 


4. 


3. 


2. 


1. 


« 


p.'S © § 


d ° * 






w 


4 


>! s * © 


2 2 © 






< 


T 


U2 'S o © 

2 ° © S' 








<w 


T« 


00 2 a 
.3 3 £*f 


^ DO © 
l"5 






« 


T8 


llil 


,© S3 r© 






«W 


yy 


sss 8 


ee ^ 

-dig 






<« 


yy« 


es 2W"S 


5 ® S 

00 £ o 






<«?? 


yy«?? 




&o,2.© 






<«R? 


yy^ 


to *2 «3 © 
5 


M © 
00 W O 






4 


iii 










4W 


M 


^f? 


<tt 


EfStf 




^W? 


YyY 


^8 


« 


*1!^T 




t? 


YyT 


J *?3 


«???? 


*ET^T 




tgff 


III 


■^ 


<«??? 


ST^T 




w 


III 


*W 


m 


HT^T 




igw 


III 


*8? 


mm 


ETShT 




w 


T 


*^$ 








T 


y*yy 


*-m 








T« 


T*+ 


*^m 








T<« 


y*YYT 


*^B 








T?< 


yy ~ 


•*ffi 








TT 


yyy 










TTT 


v 










V 


w 










W 


y 7 


#* 


(*) 






TTT 


y 


#* 


(x) 


IT 


*S 


VYV 

vvv 


y 


$* 


(x) 


ITT 


*S 


VYV 

YY 


y 


N 


(*) 


ITTT 


*S 


VW 

VYV 

wv 


y 


#* 


w 


t« 


^S 


< 


T 


#* 


w 


y vw 

4 IT 


*ffi 


<T 


yy 


t* 


w 






<TT 



Notes. — I. The 4 characters within square brackets on line 16 are deemed to be 
superfluous. 2. The conjectured fractions in sub-column 6, lines 18 and 20, are 
replaced by others in the left panel. 3. The 5 conjectured characters in Section C, 
sub-column 5, are found to be unnecessaiy. 

[112] 



gsam ii. MATHEMATICAL TABLET, obv. 



KEY. 

Number of Sossi. 



20 = 4 X 

40 = 4 X 

60 = 4 X 

80 = 4 X 

100 = 4 x 

1 20 = 4 x 

140 = 4 x 

144 = 4 x 

160 = 4 x 

180 = 4 x 
192 = 4 X 

200 = 4 X 
208 = 4 X 

216 = 4 x 

224 = 4 x 
232 = 4 X 



5 
10 

IS 

20 

25 
30 
35 
36 
40 

45 
48 
50 
52 

54 
56 

58 



240 = 4 x 60 
320 = 4 X 
360 = 4 x 90 

400 = 4 X 1 00 

480 = 4 X 120 

720 = 4 X ig 

960 = 4 x 240 

1,200 = 4 x 300 

1 ,440 = 4 x 360 
1,680 = 4 x 420 
1,920 = 4 x , 
2,160 = 4 x 540 
2,400 = 4 x 600 
2,640 = 4 x 660 
2,880 = 4 x 720 



6. 


5. 


4. 


3. 


2. 


1. 


20 








5 


40 










10 


60 










15 


80 










20 


100 










25 


120 










30 


140 










35 


144 










36 


160 










40 


Small Ell. 










45 




+ 


12 


Sossi 


48 




■f 


20 


i 




5o 




+ 


28 






52 




+ 


36 


, 




54 




+ 


44 


> 




56 




+ 


52 


» 




58 


I [Me. E.] 










I [Palm] 


I* „ 










I + 20 


Ii „ 










I + 30 


If „ 










I + 40 


2 „ 










II 


3 „ 










III 


4 » 










IV 


5 „ 










V 


I 


$« 


> 






VI 


I 


Reed 


4-E11 


| [of 720] 


+ 


VII 


I 






2 
3 


+ 


VIII 


I 






3 

3 


+ 


IX 


I 






4 

3 


+ 


X 


I 






5 
3 


+ 


XI 


II 










XII 



["3] 



COLUMN IV. 



THE SENKEREH 



DIA- 



6. 


5. 


4. 


3. 


2. 


1. 


« 










V 


«w 






Ttf 




w 


<« 






W 




YYY 
YYY 


<«^ 






Til 




VYV 


<«< 






TyJ 




#Y 

YY 


m 






TrI 




VYV 
YYY 
YYY 


<# 






TtI 




< 


<<?w 






TtJ 




<T 


T 


4ki 








<TT 


T 


>4KI 


< 


w 




A> 


T 


>WI 


« 


w 




<W 


T 


>wT 


<« 


w 


jj ►> « 


<w 


T 


>?k! 


<? 


TrI 




« 


T 


>wT 


<« 
« 


w 


51* 


«TT 


TT 


>wl 






"3 ? TS 

■r" 00 n 


«V 


m 






c i-i C 3 


Op jj 3 

•g --S 

° <D <D 
5,3 § 


<«fl? 


YYY 

yy 


>wT 




— •"d "o * 


opS 


T ' 


YYY 
TTT 

W 


4ki 




p a» o fi 

Is " £-° 


*-< *-■ 5 


Y<YT 

T«V 


YYTT 
TYTT 


>Jk! 








T<« fflf 


TTTTY 
YYTT 

11 




££- 


•2 o o a 
o£ en S 

ur „ 3 


°*^ © 

+» 00 ,3 


TT 


•f 


N 


£*>" 




- 2 * 


TTT 




1* 


*-»-,_ 

i*>- 


S'lJci . 


o «J © 

OS ,-H 
P<3 © 

OQ © 


w 


V 


1* 


{*>■ 


•f= ^ ^ o * 

° Ji w Ot 




YYY 
YYY 


ffl 

T + 


$* 
#* 




x'3 c • rt 


^ O oJ pi 


YYY 

YYY 

YYY 
YYY 


TOT 


p$ 


i*>- 


h Sjy 9.9 

H 

o 


1 Wtf «1 
pq 


<" 


m? 


$* 


{*>- 


£ 


to 


<T 


TT 


$* 


{*>■ 






<TT 


*tT^^ 


E<§ 


N 


v H 




m& 



[>>*) 



&EAM i. MATHEMATICAL TABLET. 

KEY. No. ofSossi." 



OBV. 



20 = 5 X 
25 = 5 X 
30=5 X 

35 = 5* 
40=5 

45 = 5 
50=5 
55 = 5 
60 = 5 
70=5 
80=5 
90=5 



100= 5 x 

110 = 5 

120 = 5 

180=5 

240=5 

300=5 

360=5 

420 = 5 

480=5 

540=5 



4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 
11 

12 

14 
16 
18 
20 
22 
24 
36 
48 
60 
72 
84 
96 
108 



120 

180 

240 

: 300 



600= 5 

900=5 

1,200 = 5 

1,500=5 

1,800=5 x 360 
2,400 = 5 x 480 
2,700 = 5 x 540 
3,000 = 5 x 600 
3,300= 5 x66o 
3,600 = 5 x 720 



6. 


5. 


4. 


3. 


2, 


20 










25 






Ttf 




30 






Of Palm 




35 






„ 




40 






„ 




45 






„ 




50 






)) 




55 




Sossi 


» 




1 P 


4?<T 


— 








In Gt. Ell 


[ + ] 
[ + ] 

[+; 
[+: 


10 
20 
30 
40 








» 


[+] 


50 


„ 




2 


>) 








3 


)> 








4 


„ 








5 


)) 


[iGt.Ell] 






6 


)) 


[Ii „ ] 






7 


„ 


Tt 2 1 






8 


» 


[if .. J 






9 


» 


[Ii „ ] 






J [of 1800] 


^ 


£^ 






* „ 


Reed 


S-Ell 






t „ 


>> 


)) 






5 










B" » 


j) 


)? 






I [Gt. Reed] 


>) 


» 






I* „ 


j> 


)> 






Ii , 


„ 


» 






if „ 


„ 


)J 






if -■ 


„ 


» 






n „ 


„ 


, 









jflP = 3 = multiplier 
£££ 6, each ^ = 
360 x 6 = 2160. 



^K = 4 = multiplier. 
•^each = 36o x ^ = 2 

= 720-4-^= 10 = 72 

xig 40 = 2880. 



[v = 2] Duplicate. 



B=5 = 
multiplier. 
y = 36oo. 



Sl = ? 

Colophon 



["5] 



p 
1-3 

> 

P3 

P4 



a 




£ 




> 


P 


^ 


H 




H 


,— 1 


O 




Li 


w 


pq 


c 


^H 


P 


-r, 


W 


* 


£ 




H 


pq" 








£ 




o 


OU 


£ 


H 


r/) 


W 


< 


H 






H 


h 


bJ 


O 


- 




pq 


r," 


< 


r- 


H 


c_; 




fe 


Pq" 


W 


w 


- 


H 



pq~ 
p 
o 

o 
o 



§ 





> 




t~- CN *■* 






(N CM 


CN 




n 






§ 


HNrHOO 
1 1 1 1 






1 I 


CN 

1 




CO 


o ^t 




1 





.-h oi O i-> 






0O OS 


OS 




re 








1-1 T " H 






■"• 






CI 


1^ 


















f§1 




O 


























M- fcP 






H ? 


>• 




p 


^^ 






P 
CO 


-— ^^— -- 






■ .—^ 








a ^ 

CB.S 






CO © 














oS-h 




l-J 




i-< CN OS 






i-l CO 


■* 










M 


c 


1 1 1 






CO i-l 


CN 


CO 










H0OH 






1 1 


1 










2 


13 


1-1 






1>- © 


t^ 


«3 

^1 




s 1 




d 


















^cc 


















^ c 


02 . 




"o 
















2§ 


O 




o 

,0 


^ ^ 






M P 


P 


p 




CS ^_ 


ft 




















.Orr- 






X 


v— ,— -< 
















.,: 


CN i-l 






CN 

CN CO CO CN 


CN 








p 




g 


i-i OJ 






CN i-h 1 CN 


CO 00 CO 








o 




1 1 






1 CO 1 


CO CO 1 








C3 


d 


13 








■^ CM CO 








<£> 


o 




rH 






1-1 ^ 


CN 






•^ i- 




















o 

PI 


"3 


1— ( HH 






M hi P 


^ !> tl 






.2 a 




M 


p 

50 


W "~' 














~o c 




















OC -t- 






u 


Mr-IHCO 


r^ 


_ 


,_, 












M 


P 


r-(M(MH 
1 I 1 1 


CN 




CO 








jz| " 




£i 


3 


lO«5iO«5 


CO 


tH 










1—1 E 




a 




1-1 


CN 


1-1 


CN 








d.j 

at 






















"o 


















^ t 




o 




1— 1 HH 


> 




















H M K^ 


> 


> 








S 




p 






















02 
















■ a 




4 
W 
P 










H 

^ 








• .. C 
3.2-r 






r r h 






»-*~Z- 


5-jfe^ 






CS o a 




m 




2 *° 


rt 


~* 




It 






•+=> !_, 
















IA 






c .S > 




o 










































w 

p 

►J 
<! 




Palm 
Palm 
Palm 


a 

Ph 


a 

- 


Palm 

mental 
alms 


alms 
alms 
11 Ells 


a 

= 




|.s! 




s 




° "o "o 


°o 


<5 


■8 1 * 


Ph Ph § 


- 


° a " 
.S > ' 








M hs hs 


HS 


H2 


H|» r S W 
1*1 


i< «5 K 


£ 


►3 

CO 




pj 


















-1 B - 












































.£ CO' 1 














-g 








£ §< 




SB 




* * ^ 






'fcc • 

p : : 








1 a. 5 




O 




: : 'eS 


a 




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a «J 




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a 








to w I 








Ph 


B 


t -J- 


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O 


'rt 


^ * T3 


q 


nd 


HH 




« 




: ' ^ 


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^ IS w 


a w p^ 


5 


« 


* +-B 








ine.. 
ossus 
went 


? 


g 


bird 
heP 
mall 


Mediu 
Large 
Small 


p 
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C 


1 






^ 03 H 


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|,3tf 
























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Hl« 


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bioTJ 
















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BS|e 


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a . 
















H|* rHlN 




HOJ 


























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a* 
























H0 ,7j'O 














H|eO 


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c>;.~: 


Him 


















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tN|* 


H* 


Ml* 
















CO 


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CO t- 


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&~1 










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r-t U3 CO 


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Ol 


CO <-© 


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00 •*.— ' 


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■— 1 CO IC 00 


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CO -* 




o 


tH 


ot 


© 00 


TiH 


© 










r-l IQ 


t>- 




(M 






<r> 


oo 
















CO 


^ 


iO © 


OO 


© 






















Tl 
























<B 






















ni 


01 


T3 






















CD 






: : J : 
: :2| 

: : ^ o 




































* Ph 


H 


PA 


- 


.2 


J? 

Pn 


: S 


s 


H 


T3 

CD 

(4 


a 




pi 

fa 


§0 

►3 


b 


P 


fl =° te S 


1 
3 


M % 

ce a 


PS 


&0 


1 


S3 

cy 


8.? 


■3 

o 


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h-1 02 H H 


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["7] 



118 



CHAPTER I. 



ON THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE 
SENKEREH TABLET. 



IT is deeply interesting to know how men's minds worked 
when the world was young. And it is to Babylonia 
— the cradle of the human race— that we must go for 
some evidence of this. The low alluvial plains at the 
head of the Persian Gulf are covered with the remains 
of primitive cities, palaces, temples, and cemeteries ; from 
one of which, fifty years ago, was disinterred the little 
slab of unbaked clay which is now to engage our attention, 
as embodying the world's earliest known arithmetical 
system. 

Senkereh is a small Arab village standing on the site 
of the ancient city of Larsam or Larsa, in Southern 
Babylonia. Not far away from its series of mounds are 
the ruins of Warka — the Erech of Genesis x. 10 — and of 
Mukayyar, once the home of the Patriarch Abram. Here, 
in 1850, Mr. W. K. Loftus discovered a great number of 
tombs containing baked -clay tablets and pottery, the 
former with rude Cuneiform inscriptions impressed upon 
one or both sides. 1 His most valuable discovery was 

1 Chaldea and Susiana, 1857, p. 255. 



HISTOBY OF THE TABLET. 119 

a 'table of squares/ which, with the late Sir Henry 
Rawlinson's aid, was seen to confirm the statement of 
Berosus the Chaldean, that the Babylonians made use 
of a sexagesimal notation, the unit of which was termed 
a sossus, as well as of a decimal notation. 

The early investigations into the contents of this tablet 
were confined to its reverse side, which is in a state of 
almost perfect preservation, and which, from its geo- 
metrical method, is of comparatively easy comprehension. 
Its other side, the obverse, is in much worse condition, 
nearly one -half of its figures and ideographs being 
flaked away. 

Under Sir Henry Rawlin son's editorship the Trustees 
of the British Museum published a transcription of the 
tablet in Plate 37 of the fourth volume of their ' Cuneiform 
Inscriptions of "Western Asia/ the second edition of which 
appeared in 189 1. 1 The possible value of this tablet was 
early recognized. In 1868 Lenormant issued his ' Essai 
sur un Document Math^matique,' and in 1877 Professor 
Lepsius, of Berlin, published a monograph upon it, which 
may be seen in the library of the Society of Biblical 
Arch geologists. Beside these, many other attempts were 
made to restore the missing figures, and to read the 
riddle of this literary sphinx. Hommel well expressed 
the general conviction of Assyriologists when he wrote 
(Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, i. 218, article 
Babylonia), * On the reverse of the tablet of Senkereh 
are given the squares and cubes of the cubit from the 
No. 1 up to 60 [this is a clerical error for 40], and on 

1 The tablet itself is numbered 92,698, and is in the British Museum. 



120 THE TABERNACLE. 

the obverse the fractions and multiples of the cubit.' 
This much was perceived, but no more. Its reconstruction 
still remained for others to accomplish. The result to be 
attained seemed so exceedingly desirable that several 
months of application have enabled me to present au 
exposition of the obverse side of the tablet, which, 
though not complete to the smallest detail, still is so 
far consistent and harmonious with the existing im- 
pressions of the stylus as, I believe, to merit general 
acceptance. 

When it is stated that each side of the tablet has a 
surface for writing of about six inches square (7 J x 5f 
inches), and that 285 separate characters are still found 
on the obverse, and that these require the addition of an 
almost equal number which have been effaced, in order 
to complete the system, it will be seen that enormous 
difficulties have already been overcome in its transcription. 
The difficulties must have been insuperable but for the use 
of the microscope, a magnifying- glass having been almost 
certainly used in its construction. Why a work of such 
care and elaboration should not have been hardened by 
being baked, is one of those questions which it is easy to 
ask and impossible to answer. 

Coming now to the contents of the tablet, we find that 
our first duty is to divide it horizontally into sections 
and longitudinally into sub-columns. This involves, of 
course, some acquaintance with its contents and with the 
value of each of its characters. This done, we find that 
there are, in each of its four columns, six sub-columns, 
the number of sections in each being either three or four. 



SENKEBEH TABLET COLUMNS. 121 

Column I. (Diagram IV.). 1 

The first column is found to represent a series of 
arithmetical progressions, and is not, as are the other 
three, a column of multiplication, with the multiplier 
unexpressed. In extent it ranges from the smallest 
length- measure, that of the line, to half of each of the 
ells contained in the following columns. The way in 
which this minutest fraction is expressed is a very 
ingenious one. Three sossi are taken, and are repeated 
through nine lines. This is done in sub - column 1, 
and their equivalents in writing are set down opposite 
to them in sub-column 6. Between these two rows of 
characters, and in sub-column 3, there are impressed the 
gradual and progressive values of nine lines (Section A), 
with the sign for addition connecting them with the 
written figures to their left. The third line on the fifth 
diagram (p. 116) shows that, with the exception of the 
great ell, this is the only instance in which a written 
figure was taken to express a whole number or a fraction 
of a whole number ; the idea to be conveyed being that 
three sossi were one-twentieth of a palm, a measure 
which could hardly have been distinguished in any 
other way than by having its own ideograph. This 
ideograph occurs only here in the tablet. 

In this way six sossi are reached, and the first section 
is complete, it having been shown that there are three 
* lines ' to each sossus. 

1 In an independent study of the Senkereh tablet it will be found advisable 
to take the diagrams in the order of their numeration, 1 to 4, rather than 
that of the columns. 



122 THE TABERNACLE. 

In Section B the progression is a decimal one, and the 
later figures move forward in tenths of a palm. In 
Section C the progression is a duodecimal one, and the 
figures move forward in twelfths of a palm. To each of 
these sections the value of half a palm is devoted, and 
the table has now arrived at its true summit and goal, 
which was to show the whole palm, as hand-breadth, 
with all its accompanying fractions, except its principal 
one, which was reserved for Column II., where it appears 
on lines 14-22. 1 

Before closing the record, however, the scribe inserted 
another section, D, in order to show the relation which 
the palm bore to the subsequent columns. The palm of 
60 sossi is therefore given as 1^-, 2, and 2-|- palms, thus 
leading us insensibly to its further developments, as now 
to be indicated. 

Column II. (Diagram III.). 

This is a column of multiplication, and is comparable 
to the second column in an ordinary multiplication table. 
Apart from the fact of the multiplier 3 being unexpressed, 
and from the bad condition of the upper part of the 
Cuneiform, it presents few difficulties. 

In one respect, indeed, it differs from those following, 
and this singularity merits a moment's consideration. 
It is this : — Whereas the multiplicand in each of the 
Columns II., III., and IV. is the same, namely, twelve 
palms variously arranged and expressed, in Column II. 

1 It will not escape notice that the details of the digit in Section B are 
followed by their use in the fractions of Section C, Column II. 



SENKEKEH TABLET COLUMNS. 123 

the working-out of the system is divided into two main 
divisions. In the former of these four palms are dealt 
with, in minute fractions, and are multiplied into small 
ells, each ell being of the length of three palms. In the 
latter, Section 0, eight palms are dealt with in larger 
fractions, the total of both divisions being 12 palms each 
of 60 sossi x 3 = 2,160, a figure which is recorded at the 
foot of the column. 

Columns III. and IV. {Diagrams II. and I.). 

In these columns the unexpressed multipliers are 4 and 
5 respectively, and with this key in his hand any scholar 
will be able to test for himself the correctness of the 
conclusions given and that of the restored figures. One 
item only of these columns needs to be referred to here. 
They, in common with Column II., are worked out to 
a higher denomination than ells. When a certain 
number of ells had been reached, the system developed 
into one of reeds, just as with us inches become feet and 
feet become yards. Unfortunately, the distinguishing 
mark of these reeds (i.e. that by which they were known 
one from another) has been effaced in all but one of the 
columns. The missing characters have been conjecturally 
restored in the left-hand panels of the diagrams, but these 
have no accepted authority, except in Column IV. 

The Fractions of the Tablet. 

One of the most fascinating aspects of the tablet is the 
way in which its fractions are expressed. Of these there 



124 THE TABERNACLE. 

are a great number, and they afford us a simpler con- 
ception of the mathematical attainments of primitive man 
than can be got in any other way. The fractions used are 
these : J, ^-, J, f , -J, f, and f-. The improper fractions f , 
I-, and f are also used. For the mode of their expression 
I must refer to a later page, where it will be seen that 
a horizontal wedge, cut in half by an upright wedge, 
is the sign for J, and that this simple principle of the 
ocular demonstration of the fraction intended obtains 
throughout the whole series. 

I may take leave to doubt whether, either the actual 
finger-breadth or the finger-length is ever here referred 
to as a factor of the palm, which, it will hardly be denied, 
was the ' fundamental ' of this whole system of length- 
measures. Taking the palm as the original from which 
all other measures were derived^ the tablet shows that six 
lesser lengths were derived from it, and that it was 
multiplied into six greater lengths. Amongst these 
twelve derivations the finger does not appear ! What 
does appear, and what for convenience has been termed 
a ' digit/ on nine lines of Column II., is one-third of 
a palm, each unit being of the value of twenty sossi. 
These I take to have been adopted as the conventional 
length of the fore-joint of the thumb, which is ordinarily 
about one-third of the width of the palm, and may have 
been commonly used in a sparse population (as was the 
hand-breadth) for purposes of measurement. Disputes 
arising from this unscientific method would early compel 
the conventionalization of both measures. 

A tribute of respect is due to the dead-and-gone sages 



POINTS FEOM THE TABLET. 125 

who, some five thousand years ago, worked out for them- 
selves, and for us, this system of arithmetic. With only 
their right hand to guide them, they elaborated a system 
which in many respects is superior to that in use amongst 
ourselves. For theirs was at once decimal and duodecimal, 
and in their monetary system there could not have been 
the anomaly of having twelve pence in a shilling and 
twenty shillings in a pound without any power of simple 
co-ordination. 

How closely they adhered to the human hand as the 
source and embodiment of their whole system may be seen 
in their appropriation of its five fingers to differing uses. 
One was the symbol of unity or completeness, and is used 
in twelve different relations on the face of the tablet, as 
shown in diagram No. V. Two was used for all purposes 
of duplication. Thus there were single reeds and double 
reeds of three varieties. The remaining integers, 3, 4, 
and 5, when multiplied together, gave them the 60 which 
Berosus chronicled, and which, being divisible either by 
10 or 12, gave them in the sexagesimal system of notation 
a more simple and elastic system than our decimal one. 

What I think may be considered as having been 
established by the present reading of the Senkereh tablet 
are these three points. That in the system which it 
represents — 

(1) The breadth of the hand-palm (conventionalized) was 
the fundamental of all length-measures. 

(2) That there were three ell-lengths in simultaneous use, 
each probably in a different department of trade, like our 
own Troy and Avoirdupois weights. 



126 THE TABERNACLE. 

(3) That the relation of these ells to one another was the 
relation of 3, 4, and 5 ; these having been the number of 
palms of which they respectively consisted. 



Having thus given a bird's-eye view of the construction 
of the restored Senkereh tablet, and a brief summary of 
the conclusions to be drawn from it, it is now necessary 
to go over the field again with more especial reference 
to the arithmetical signs used, and to the characters, other 
than figures, whicb appear on its face. 

The numerals themselves do not detain us, as, with 
one or two exceptions, 1 they are not more difficult of 
comprehension than are the later Roman figures, but 
the mode in which the fractions are expressed is not 
undisputed. To this, therefore, a brief space may be 
given. 

In the system by which the various fractions of a whole 
number were at the first made visible to the eye, and 
given an abiding permanency, we have the solution of 
a deeply interesting problem. In order to attain these 
ends, the original method would seem to have been that 
of taking a single wedge, which was throughout the 
emblem of unity, and by treating it as such to convey 
to the mind, through the eye, the desired idea. This 
foundation wedge was generally treated horizontally, 
there being thus but one step from the work of the 

1 Of these exceptions that for 19 is the most unusual. It does not occur on 
the obverse of the tablet. The distinction between 4 and 40 is thus attained : 
If = 4, ^ = 40. See Glossary, p. 107. 



TABLET FRACTION SIGNS. 127 

hewer- of- wood to that of the ideal of the artist in clay. 
So placed, the prostrate unit was 'cut up* into its 
various component parts, and thus the intended effect 
was produced. The earliest application of this principle 
naturally would be to divide a single wedge into its 
* halves * ; and to do this in such a way as that a person 
at a distance, seeing the graph, would know what was 
intended. 

The series would then be as follows : — 

(i) + = *• 

This sign occurs in each of the four columns of the 
tablet, and has everywhere the same relative value, that 
value being one moiety of some whole number, generally 
that of the one preceding it ; e.g., in Column II., line 24, 
the 'half' is that of the immediately preceding total of 
720 sossi. In Column III., line 19, the 'half is that 
of the medium ell of 240 sossi, to which the whole section 
is devoted. In Column IY., lines 24 and 29, it is one 
' half ' of the great reed of 1,800 sossi, to the growth 
of which the whole section is devoted. As, however, 
Assyriologists are in full accord as to the meaning of this 
sign, there is no need to say more about it. 

(2) 1=' third.' jff=J. JTJ = f 

This character, J, when unassociated with any other, 
occurs but once on the face of the tablet. This is in 
Column II., line 22, where its undisputed appearance 
furnishes indubitable evidence and plays a most important 
part in the elucidation of the column. For we have here 



128 THE TABEBNACLE. 

the singular result that while the whole column is based 
upon a multiplicand of 12 palms (as are the others), and 
works out by multiplication to a total of reeds (as do the 
other columns), yet we have in this single character 
a suggestion of a division of its contents (other than 
the usual) into two parts of one and two reeds. The 
presence of this sign shows that its first division consisted 
of but one-third of the whole. Had this single figure 
been effaced by time, I do not see how the tablet could 
have been perfectly reconstructed. 

In all other parts of the tablet the ^ is accompanied by 
one or more index figures following it, to show how many 
' thirds ' were intended. This is indicated by a number 
of perpendicular wedges, which tell us whether one or two 
thirds are to be taken into account. 

In Column III., lines 26-30, this system is still further 
extended, so as to reach the improper fraction of five- 
thirds, these being the fractions, in ells, of which the 
medium reed consisted before it reached the second unit. 
Four of these five characters are in the original, one only 
requiring to be added by conjecture. 

(3) Jfl = f 

This sign occurs but once on the face of the tablet as 
the equivalent of three-quarters of a whole number. It 
is found in Column II., line 25, as one of a series of pro- 
gressive fractions, and being in such good company its 
respectability can hardly be doubted. Its normal con- 
struction is also in its favour, as it is that of a horizontal 
wedge divided into quarters, three of which are indicated 



TABLET FRACTION SIGNS. 129 

by as many upright wedges, the middle wedge being 
taken to be in the centre of the prostrate one. 

Allied to this character, both in form and significance, 
are two others. One of these occurs repeatedly in 
Column III., where in lines 12-16 (preceded by two con- 
jectures) it stands as the sign for the 3-palm ell. 

In the summary line of Column II., sub-column 1, 
line 33, is another instance of the use of a character 
similar in appearance to that under consideration. It 
is here taken to signify 'three,' that being the unusual 
number of reeds into which the whole multiplicand sub- 
column above it had been multiplied. 

It is not certain that these three characters, so similar 
in meaning to one another, are exactly identical in shape. 
The three upright wedges in each of them may have been 
slightly differentiated in position, so as to give a distinctive 
character to each. In the case of the five occurrences on 
Column III., it may have been intended to convey that 
the small ell there was three-quarters the length of the 
ordinary or medium ell, just as the old English ell of 
27 inches was three-quarters of a yard. This would then 
be its name, and no difference of structure would be 
required, the same sign serving for three-quarters of an 
integer and the three-quarter ell. 



(4) (•)=*( PJL). 

The original sign for one-fourth does not now, unhappily, 
occur in any part of the tablet as an independent character, 
Its place in Column II., sub-column 6, line 23, where the 



130 THE TABEKNACLE. 

' system ' of the tablet makes it imperative, 1 lias been 
irremediably injured and the writing defaced. 

On tbe principle of analogy and by acting on the rule 
already suggested as tbat by which the expression of all 
the fractions was arrived at, we may give to it the 
character of a horizontal wedge of which the fourth part 
is indicated by a wedge standing above it. Its place 
should be to the right of the centre. While, however, 
no instance of such figure is to be found, there are slight 
indications that the sign for one-quarter, when used in 
combination with other fractions, was a single perpen- 
dicular wedge. This will be seen in the next paragraph. 

(5) m=h 

This sign actually occurs only in Column IV., lines 26 
and 31, and con jectur ally in Column II., line 31. These 
occasions enable us to determine its value with something 
like certainty, and to analyze its form in harmony with 
the examples and principles already laid down. Its com- 
position would seem to have been determined by a union 
of two other fractions, thus : — ■ 

«r = f 

T = i- 

T = i- 
These being added together will give the fraction of 
five- sixths. 

1 Its value is determined by the single wedge of one palm in sub -column 1, 
governed by the multiplier 3, producing \ of a small reed. No other fraction 
could have been used. 



TABLET FRACTION SIGNS. 131 

(6) Iil = i. 

In close conjunction with the sign for three-quarters 
will be found that for seven-eighths, which seems to have 
been founded upon it. Of the one-quarter which remained 
when three had been cut off, to make the former, it was 
but necessary to halve the remainder to give the desired 
result of seven-eighths. This was accordingly done, but 
the additional wedge, instead of being placed beside the 
other, was written above it, thus signifying that of the 
original whole number, but one-eighth was excluded 
instead of one-quarter. It appears in Column II., line 26. 

In closing this part of the subject I may say that I am 
quite aware that to some of the above-mentioned characters 
other meanings are given by Cuneiform scholars. I do 
not dispute the correctness of their interpretation. As, 
however, most characters of this early language have 
more than one meaning, and in some cases a great variety 
of meanings, I would urge that to those already accepted 
the values here given to these signs may be added. I do 
this upon the ground of the homogeneity of the whole 
document before us, which requires that in it these values, 
and these only, be read into the six signs which have 
already engaged our attention. 



"We pass now, by a natural transition, to the consideration 
of the remaining characters of the tablet, i.e. those other 
than figures or arithmetical signs. These will merit the 



132 THE TABERNACLE. 

most cautious and enlightened treatment, as it is upon 
their evidence that the whole metrological value of the 
tablet rests. As with ourselves a series of ledger accounts 
are dependent for the just appreciation of their figures 
upon the headings of their columns for pounds, shillings, 
and pence, so here. The six characters now to engage 
our attention correspond, in their uses, with the £ s. d. of 
commerce ; and any error of interpretation, or feature that 
may be overlooked, will vitiate the whole scheme and 
render it worthless. 

In order to distinguish these six determinatives- of- values 
from the ' signs ' already dealt with, they are here named 
ideographs, though this term is not perhaps philologically 
correct. They are taken in the order of their supposed 
length- values, rising from the lesser to the greater. 

(1) gf Jfif = the Sossus (su-si). 

The union of these two characters is approved by 
Mr. Theo. Gr. Pinches, LL.D., who writes : ' These two 
characters cannot, when side by side, be separated, and 
in that case they stand for hand-horn, the J=f meaning 
" hand " and the ^if meaning " horn." ' 

Avoiding all possible controversial matter as to how 
this combination came afterwards to be interpreted into 
its recognized and cognate meaning or meanings, I wish 
to confine myself to the sole evidence of the Senkereh 
tablet, from the first column of which we learn that the 
fundamental measure of Babylonian metrology was divided 
into sixty spaces. These, we may suppose, to have been 



TABLET YALUE SIGNS. 133 

marked by notches on a stick or rule, or by cuttings in 
a clay tablet. It is not improbable that these notches, or 
rather the spaces between them, were originally called 
' horns/ and as the measure of the hand was the basis of 
the system, there is every reason for the application of the 
term 'hand-horn' to the length-measure which Berosus 
the Chaldean tells us was the original of the Babylonian 
system of metrology. 

This compound ideograph gj Jfzf occurs no less than 
ten times in a perfect state on the tablet, at other times 
requiring to be read-in as part of the sub-columns in 
which varying numbers of sossi are given. This is 
noticeably the case in the first twelve lines of Column II., 
sub-columns 1 and 6. A still better example of its 
omission, all the existing figures being authentic, may 
be found in Column IY., sub-column 1, lines 1-17, with 
the denominator unexpressed. In this case the twelve 
YyJ[ in sub-column 3 are taken to belong to the figures 
on their right. 

Diagram Y. shows that no single ideograph has so 
many occurrences on the tablet as that for the sossus. 
This is what should have been expected when its premier 
position is remembered. It ought to be no detriment to 
this aspect of the case that the ancient artist has sometimes 
forgotten to head his sub-columns with the yard or foot 
or inch of his day, or, likelier still, has failed to find 
room for it. The coherency of the whole tablet should be 
our sufficient warrant for understanding these governing 
signs when not expressed. 



134 THE TABERNACLE. 

(2) 1H = A °f Falm} 

Tlie measure next larger in size to the soss was a measure 
of three sossi. It is almost the only length-measure of 
the tablet which is not somewhere represented by a single 
wedge. Its only occurrence is in Column L, sub-column 6, 
lines 7-13. 

The interpretation of this character is based upon the 
fact that Column I. is throughout its length a table of 
equivalents, every item in sub-column 6 being the equation 
of the corresponding item in sub-column 1. This principle 
of constructing Column I. carries with it the meaning of 
this ideograph, both the characters YTT an ^ III appearing 
in all their original clearness in lines 7 and 8. 

The special value and use of a measure of this length 
will presently appear in the fact that it was the one- 
sixtieth part of the small ell. 

(3) fyjf = the Palm (gar). 

Proceeding in the same direction as hitherto, from 
smaller to larger, we come to the ideograph for palm or 
hand-breadth. As this was the ' fundamental ' from which 
all other measures were derived, either by division or 
multiplication, its written sign has more than an ordinary 
interest for the student. 

The character itself appears in Columns I. and IV. 

1 The conventional value of YTT is the fraetion f . This is arrived at by 
assuming that the first upright wedge in Column L, on line 14, has 60 
constituent parts, of which 9, each of the value of 6 parts, are given in 
Section A, sub -column 3. The true character for f has already been given 
in (5), p. 130. 



TABLET VALUE SIGNS. 135 

In the former it is shown in every line of Sections 
and D, having been effaced in but one of ten occurrences. 
It is here used in conjunction with the various fractions 
that constitute the hand-breadth, these rising from half- 
a-palm to 2\ palms. 

In Column TV. its use is slightly different. It occurs 
on lines 2-8, in order to give the value of the figures in 
sub-column 6. These are, in this way, shown to be so 
many sixtieths of the palm, and therefore sossi. In 
lines 10-14 it serves a similar purpose for the figures in 
sub-column 4. 

Its non-recital on line 9 is instructive. That being the 
line on which the 60 sossi or palm was reached in the 
progression, no characterization was necessary, the single 
wedge (representing the completed palm) appearing in 
sub-column 6. Thus does the intentional omission of 
a character here tend to give validity to its insertion 
both above and below. Its insertion would have been 
misleading. 

(4) (M or) 3f = 3-pahn Ell. 

£^[ = 4:-palm Ell. 

1 £^| = 5 -palm Ell. 

These three characters are taken together here, as they 
not only mutually illustrate each other's construction, but 
are found together at the foot of Column II., where they 
occupy a position of isolation on line 33, as indices of 
the various columns, or summaries of their contents. 

1 It is unnecessary to remark that the fish-tail is here the sign of an extra 



136 THE TABEBNACLE. 

First, as to their plan of construction. It will be seen 
that the upright wedge is common to them. This stands 
to the left in each character, and is the symbol of unity 
or completeness. 

At right angles to this are, in one case 3, in another 4, 
and in another 5 horizontal wedges, these being the number 
of palms of which the several ells respectively consisted. 

If these index-characters be compared with those in 
the body of the tablet, a slight difference, not of shape, 
but of aspect, will be observed in one of them. 

(a) The 5-palm ell has a long series of occurrences in 
Column IV., where its appearance corresponds with that 
at the foot of Column II. Its use, however, is to 
accompany the development of the double large ell from 
its earliest fraction of a single palm to its maximum of 
nine palms, when it is merged into the third of a great 
reed of 1,800 sossi. This illustrative use of an ideograph 
seems to be a singular one in the whole of the document 
we are examining. 

(b) The 4-palm ell does not appear as a ' character ' in 
any part of the body of the tablet, though it is referred to 
by a series of single wedges in Column III., sub-column 6, 
lines 17-24. In this connection a comparison-study of 
Sections B and C should be found useful. 

(c) The 3 -palm ell has a fivefold appearance in 
Column III., sub- column 6, lines 12-16. It is not 
a matter of importance that the wedges composing it, 
while bearing the same relation to one another, are placed 
at a different angle. This is not unusual, and does not 
affect the value of the character. 



TABLET VALUE SIGNS. 137 

(5) ^ £>— = Great Reed (jkas-bu), 1 

Dr. Pinches' note on these two characters is as follows : 
' These two characters cannot when side by side be 
separated, and in that case they stand for a well-known 
measure of length, "the long road," and, by extension, 
for the space of time known as a Babylonian hour (two 
of our hours), apparently the period needed to walk the 
distance indicated, i.e. about 7 miles.' 

I give this note as containing the Assyriologists* 
current view of the interpretation of these associated 
characters. While not presuming to attempt to traverse 
these conclusions, I wish to place (beside them) the 
conviction forced upon me by the evidence of the Senkereh 
tablet as to what possibly was their earlier and more 
primitive meaning. It is that ^ stands here for the 
instrument by which lands or roads were measured. "We 
learn from Ezekiel (c. B.C. 600), who wrote in Babylonia, 
that the courts and open spaces about the temple were 
measured by a reed of six cubits, each of which was 
a palm-breadth longer than the cubits of the measuring 
line (Ezekiel xl. 5 and xlii. 16). May it not have 
been that originally this ideograph stood for the reed of 
measurement, and was afterwards transferred to the thing 
measured ? 

I take the ideograph £>— to be an adjectival element 

1 Professor Sayce, who occupies the Chair of Assyriology at Oxford, "writes : 

* ^$ is the primitive hieroglyph ^x&f , which denotes sina, or double. 

I prefer my old rendering "double-length" for Tcas-buS 
This is in full accord with my text. 



138 THE TABERNACLE. 

governing its associated character, and representing that 
the reed intended is one of five- palm ells, there being five 
wedges in its figure. 

Rawlinson's transcription of the Senkereh tablet gives 
this ideograph as occurring on ten lines of Column IV., 
i.e. throughout Section C, where it is obviously in place. 
But he also gives it as appearing in the ten corresponding 
lines of Column II., where it is as obviously out of place, 
having been, in all likelihood, copied as to its exact form 
from the clearer indentation of Column IY. 

The character required in Column II. is one of three 
wedges, and in Column III., where it has now been 
wholly effaced, one of four wedges. 

To anyone who has examined the tablet at first hand, 
these suggested modifications and additions will not appear 
overbold, so bad in parts is its present condition. 

(6) *^ = + or Phis {ammatu). 

This character occurs authentically twenty-five times 
on Rawlinson's transcription, and the accompanying 
reconstruction diagrams show that it has been effaced in 
many other places, in seven of which Rawlinson suggests 
it. It is found only in Columns I. and III. as authentic. 

Over the meaning of this character earnest consultations 
have taken place with one or more eminent Cuneiform 
scholars, as it is upon the significance and value of this 
element that previous attempts to interpret and reconstruct 
the Senkereh tablet have been based. 

That in much Cuneiform writing >£{$. means ' cubit* 
has been clearly and fully proved. With this knowledge 



TABLET AEITHMETICAL SIGN. 139 

philologists have approached the consideration of the 
tablet, and as a result have seen cubits in its first column, 
where we have found palms only. The consequence has 
been that Lenormant found acres and stadia within its 
four corners, and Lepsius stadia and parasangs. The 
former gives its total at 21,600 ' lines* and the latter 
12,960,000 < lines. 9 I find but 10,800 < lines,' all of which 
are contained within the space of eighteen English feet. 

This divergence is caused by my treating the document 
primarily from a mathematical point of view, and owing 
to the fact that I have no philological prepossessions. 
Seeing the unity and geometric accuracy of its reverse 
side, I am encouraged to find similar characteristics in 
its obverse. In so doing I am driven to the conclusion 
that whatever other meanings ^| had, then or at other 
times, on the tablet it means plus, and plus only. 1 

Thus understood, ^-Jff becomes the principal factor in 
the solution of the whole mystery of the Senkereh tablet, 
and enables it to be read with the consistency and 
coherency of a proposition of Euclid. 

From considerations of space I must refer my readers, 
for the systematized results of the whole re-reading of 
the tablet, to the summarized contents of Diagrams V. 
and VI. pp. 116, 117. Attention is also called to the 
hitherto unmentioned numerical summaries at the foot of 
Columns II. and IV. 



1 Professor Sayce allows that in later Assyrian *s T|T sometimes has the 
meaning of u or ' and.' This concession is all that is necessary, as no 
date is claimed for the actual writing of the Senkereh tablet. 



140 



CHAPTER II. 



THE RESTORATION OF THE SCALE 

OE GUDEA AND ITS COINCIDENCES 

WITH THE SENKEEEH TABLET. 



HAYING- gained from the Senkereh tablet the literary 
evidence as to the number of ells used in Babylonia, 
together with that of their relative constituent fractions, 
we further require some material evidence from the same 
field, and of about the same age, in order to produce 
a working scheme which shall claim to reproduce the 
length-measures of 5,000 years ago. Evidence of this 
nature fortunately lies within our reach, and in the 
interior co-ordination of these two factors will lie the 
proof of the theory now for the first time laid before 
the public in its entirety. It will be apparent that if 
any one measure can be substantiated as being common 
to the two documents before us, the size of all the 
other measures can be derived from it. Also, that the 
most useful length which could be produced would be 
that of the ' fundamental ' palm. Its discovery in 
a permanently concrete form would be in itself a most 
striking indication that the antique to which it belonged 



HISTOBY OF THE SCALE OF GUDEA. 141 

was of the same intellectual dispensation as the Senkereh 
tablet, in which, as we have seen, the palm takes the 
first place. These two discovered 'palms/ being placed 
side by side, should show such fractional affinities and 
identic subdivisions as will enable the archaeologist to 
say : ' These may belong to one civilization and to the 
same system of Metrology.' Such is the nature of the 
case now to be laid before the public, and it is upon 
these lines that the evidence will move. In considering 
it readers will not lose sight of the fact that the new 
witness is a very ancient one, and that Time has not 
failed to show its ravages here, as it has done on the 
face of its fellow-witness from Senkereh. 

In 1881 M. de Sarzec undertook a series of ex- 
cavations for the French Government 1 in one of the tells 
of Babylonia, not far from Senkereh. This has since 
proved to be the site of the ancient city of Lagash or 
Lagas, the ruins of which are 130 miles south-east of 
Babylon. It is now known as the village of Telloh. 

1 '"What should a French explorer, Mr. E. de Sarzec, French consul in 
Basra, bring home but nine magnificent statues made of a dark, nearly black 
stone as hard as granite, called diorite. Unfortunately they are all headless ; 
but, as though to make up for this mutilation, one head was found separate, — 
a shaved and turbanned head beautifully preserved and of remarkable work- 
manship, the very pattern of the turban being plain enough to be reproduced 

by any modern loom The title of patesi (not king) adopted by 

Gudea points to great antiquity, and he is generally understood to have lived 
somewhere between 4000 and 3000 b.c. That he was not a Semite but an 
Accadian prince is to be concluded from the language of the inscriptions and 
the writing, which is of the most archaic character.' — Eagozin's Chaldea, 
3rd edition, pp. 92, 214. 



142 



THE TABERNACLE. 




SCALE OF GRJDEA. 



143 



- 




— 






— 




"o 






4 


— 




y .^ 


— 




55 s«*> 






< 6 
I 






■« * 


— 




6^ 


— 




"* a 








— 











^ ti 


~~ 




$4 






"5 $ 




— 




S 






«.V> 






o 






w 






^ 

$ 


— 




$ 


— 


= 


m 


— 


— 


co 



\ 

5 I 



:l f 



•S ad 



--]? 



*= 



I 

•j 

4 



If*. 



£& 






8 






4 



u 



144 THE TABEENACLE. 

Buried in the courtyard of an archaic palace at Telloh, 
M. de Sarzec found eight headless statues of diorite. These 
are now in the Louvre Museum, a cast of one haying 
been presented to the Trustees of the British Museum. 
(No. 91,025). Its notice-card bears the date of B.C. 2500. 

This piece of engraved statuary represents King Gudea 
as a worshipper, in the act of dedicating his palace to the 
care of some deity. His hands are folded in the attitude 
of prayer, and on his knees lies a slab of stone. On this 
slab there is engraved the ground-plan of a building 
which was evidently of earlier erection than that of the 
palace, the walls and courtyard of which still exist. Both 
these palaces stood upon the same site, and have a general 
likeness of plan to one another. On the slab, besides the 
ground-plan, are engraved two other details. One of 
these is a graving tool, which has no message for us, apart 
from the fact that it is similar in every respect to tools in 
use to-day. 

The other is a record of the measure, or one of the 
measures, by which the palace was built. It is this 
feature of the slab which is now to claim our attention. 
The rule — known as the rule of Gudea — is in the form of 
a double line cut near the outer edge of the slab. In it 
are a number of indentations or cuts, which give to the 
rule its unique value and importance. It is to the great 
loss of ourselves that parts of this rule are missing, the 
two corners of the slab, i.e. those farthest away from the 
king's body, having been broken off and lost. 

Many attempts have been made to restore, by conjecture, 
these broken-off portions, and thus to complete the rule, 



LENGTH OF THE SCALE. 145 

but none of these has met with general acceptance. The 
first was made by the discoverer, who gives to the slab 
a total length of 29 centimetres, and to the graduated 
scale, as restored by him, a length of 27 centimetres x 
= 10'6301133 British inches. Professor Hommel gives 
to the rule an original length of 249 millimetres, 2 or 
9 '80332671 inches. Professor Paul Haupt says, ' The 
graduated portion of the rule of Gudea, on statue B, 
is 10J inches, while the entire length of the rule is 
10} inches/ 3 

These varying lengths would seem to have been arrived 
at by reading the cuttings of the rule from the left-hand 
side of the figure. Also, I have not seen it remarked that 
the slab itself is not rectangular. 

An original measure of the slab at the edge nearest 
to the king's body gives 11^- inches as the length. If the 
existing lines on either side be produced, they will show 
a contraction of two-fifths of an inch in the length of the 
slab. It is at this point that the first, or inner, line of the 
rule is met. 

The rule itself is to be credited with corners which were 
right angles. We thus arrive at the conclusion that the 
rule was 10-J inches in length. This is the measure which 
Dr. Oppert gives as the result of the measurement of the 
walls of Khorsabad. His words are, ' The Assyrian span 
is therefore exactly 10|- inches. ' See Records of the Past, 
new series, vol. xi, for 1878, pp. 22-23. 

1 Decoiwertes in Chalde'e, by E. de Sarzec, 1884-1889, plate 15. 

2 Article Babylonia, Hastings' Dictionary of Bible, vol. i. p. 218. 

8 Ezekiel vol. of the Polychrome Bible, p. 180, note. The rule of Gudea 
on statue E is here said to be a line measure and not an end measure. 



146 THE TABERNACLE. 

2. 

Having, with Oppert's support, arrived at the first 
result in the length of 10*8 inches, we have further to see 
what were the interior divisions of this space, as denoted 
by the cuttings which still remain on it, many others 
having doubtless been effaced. 

It is at this point that I part company with my pre- 
decessors in the attempt to solve these difficulties. The 
length I give to the rule differs but slightly from that 
of the French savant who first gave attention to it. But 
in the matter of its interior economy i" begin at the other 
end. The data of De Sarzec and Hommel are shown at 
b and c on the accompanying drawing. Mine may be seen 
at a, where, as at b, are opposite cuts in the rule (p. 143, B). 

It is these opposite cuts that, by the plan herein adopted 
for determining the original length of the rule, mark its 
1 third/ there being to their left twice the distance that 
there is to their right. If, however, the same distance 
of 3*6 inches be measured from the other end of the rule, 
it will be seen that there are no double cuts at the 120th 
boss, thus showing that the rule did not consist of three 
equal spaces, but of two divisions, of which one was 
double the length of the other. This fact will have an 
important bearing upon its analysis and reconstruction, 
now to be entered upon. 

(a) The smallest measure of the Senkereh tablet is 
the l line/ three of which went to each soss. The same 
relation is given in the Gudea Scale, though the process 
of development naturally differs. In this case the 



CUTTINGS ON THE SCALE. 147 

exposition begins on the front edge of the rule, and at 
its right side. 

Here we find the remains of seven cuts, which once 
stood opposite the same number on the inner side, these 
latter still existing. In each case these seven cuts on 
either side enclosed six spaces, each of the width of two 
sossi. The six spaces on the inner side were (as now) 
clear and distinct. Those on the outer side, now partly- 
defaced, were the scene of the demonstration. This was 
effected by leaving every other space vacant, and by 
dividing the three intermediate spaces into 2, 3, and 
6 x divisions. These were the consecutive fractions of 
2 — soss spaces— showing the widths of 1 soss and ■§- and 
^ soss. Few traces of these minute subdivisions, though 
engraven in the rock, could be expected to withstand 
the disintegrations of millenniums of years. But enough 
remains to show how the system was developed — the 
'system' being that familiar to us in the columns of 
the Senkereh tablet, as we shall see. 

3. 

It has already been shown that the first column of the 
Senkereh tablet is devoted to an explication of the palm 
in its various fractions and larger relations. It has been 
already suggested that the ' third ' of the Scale of Gudea, 
marked as division I, is an embodiment of the same 
fundamental measure. There should then be discoverable 



1 Four only are shown on the drawing, owing to their nearness to one 
another. 



148 THE TABERNACLE. 

in this the same, or some of the same, fractions as we have 
found in that. Nor is this expectation disappointed. 

(b) The first division of the palm was into digits, of 
which three went to its width. 1 It is one of the vexations 
of the case that the space given to the digit on the slab of 
Gudea has been torn away by one-half its length. It was 
contained in the right-hand corner of the rule, there 
being nothing else with which to fill up the space between 
the enclosing line and the first cut. This space, 'A,' is 
exactly that of 20 sossi, and may justly be taken as 
having been meant to show the length of the digit. 

(c) Next to the width of the digit on the scale come 
three spaces marked B, C, and D. Of these C forms a 
blank between the other two — a device we have already 
seen used in the case of the ' line' B and D are composed 
of double-sossi, the one containing six and the other five 
such parts, their values being respectively one-fifth and 
one-sixth of a palm. These two spaces of ten and twelve 
sossi show that the system of the slab, like that of the 
tablet, is both decimal and duodecimal. This will be seen 
to be a point of cardinal importance, as establishing the 
relationship of the two witnesses; the variation in the 
mode of exhibition (one showing 5's and 6's, and the 
other 10's and 12's) being an additional point in their 
favour, as being the work of two men, essentially the same 
in system and yet differing in the mode of presentation. 



1 On the authority of Herodotus (I. 178), who says that the difference 
between the ' royal ' and another Babylonian cubit was three digits. 



PALM OF THE SCALE. 149 



Having shown some points of harmony between the 
' palm ' of the tablet, in its first column, and that of the 
Gudean scale in its first division, it is now advisable to see 
if similar coincidences do, or do not, exhibit themselves in 
the remaining portions of these two independent witnesses. 

In making these investigations, it is of importance to 
remember that the Scale of Gudea does not consist of three 
separate and clearly defined palm-lengths. As there is 
no double cutting opposite to the 120th soss, it is evident 
that division I. was of the length of a single palm and 
division II. of the length of two palms. 

Looking at De Sarzec's reproduction of the cuttings 
found in the maimed rule (none of which are disputed 
in my transcript), it is not difficult to see what was its 
plan of construction. In order to do this, the cuttings 
on its inner line must now be read from left to right, 
i.e. from the left of the royal figure. 

These cuts, when not single, show that with inter- 
mediate blank spaces, as elsewhere, there were five 
detailed spaces given, containing respectively 2, 3, 4, 5, 
and 6 interior divisions. 1 The conjectural restoration 
of the scale, adhering to these distances in detail 0, 
shows that their contents were as follows: — 

1 These several distances being plainly marked on the original rule, it will 
be found to be not impossible to subject them to a personal scrutiny, and 
thus to arrive at the length of the sossus. The evidence to be derived from 
this source is a strong proof of the correctness of the whole, as this test will 
not stand had there been either more or fewer than 180 sossi in 10 '8 inches. 
The differences between these spaces is that of a single sossus between one 
and another. 



150 THE TABEENACLE. 

(1) Subdivision K, 2 spaces of 5 sossi each. 

(2) „ H,3 „ 4 „ 

(3) „ E, 4 „ 3 „ 

(4) „ D,5 „ 2 „ 
» B, 6 „ 2 „ 

The last of these, B, has already been dealt with on 
a previous page, in illustration of the sossus and the 
1 line.' This removes it from the necessity of further 
remark here, as, beyond the fact that it is in the 
progression 2-6 spaces, above stated, it does not belong 
to the series of exhibits now engaging our attention. 
Its contents of two - soss spaces is in favour of this 
separation, as these spaces had already been delimited 
in subdivision D. 

Taking the four subdivisions D-K, together with the 
minutiae of B as previously explained, it will be seen that 
they cover the whole ground of the units of measurement, 
as well as of their fractions of ^ and f . With this scale 
before him, any workman of ordinary intelligence could 
derive from it instruction as to any of the 30 lengths 
which are contained within the width of 10 sossi, equal 
to -J of an inch. It is probable that these fine gradations 
of measurement were necessary for the engraving of 
precious stones and of seals, of which we know that 
large numbers were used in Babylonia, the British 
Museum alone having a collection of many hundreds 
from there. 

A comparison of details of the major A, B, and 0, on 
the accompanying plan, will show that to the left of his 



THE SEXAGESIMAL SYSTEM. 151 

datum at b, M. de Sarzec could not have found more than 
two or three of the five spaces recorded in his full-length 
rule, inasmuch as the slab is here broken away. I am, 
however, inclined to think that his suggestion of five 
equal spaces to the left of b is correct, and have marked 
that number in my conjectural restoration. To these 
spaces I give a uniform width of 10 sossi, and find them 
separated, by subdivision L, from the sixth tenth, which, 
on the right, is repeatedly cut up into units, as we have seen. 
This separation-device is everywhere apparent in the rule, 
and was necessary to prevent overcrowding and obscurity. 
That there should be five complete decades of sossi, 
and that a sixth decade should be divided into its elemental 
units, is in harmony with the Babylonian system of 
notation. The statement of Berosus already quoted, that 
the Babylonians made use of a decimal notation, is not 
to be understood in the sense of their having used 
hundreds and thousands; but, rather, that the sexagesimal 
system was commonly divided into 6 decades of 10 each. 
To this the whole reading of the scheme of the Senkereh 
tablet bears witness. On its reverse face are about 
100 examples in which totals are worked out, the highest 
result being 27,000. All these are given in sixties, or 
in sixties -of- sixties. In another tablet, a portion of 
which is transcribed on the same plate as Rawlinson's 
reading of the Senkereh tablet, 3,600 is indicated by 
a single upright wedge l — being 60 X 60. So immutable 
was the system of sixties ! 

1 As is also done in the character immediately preceding the colophon of 
the Senkereh tablet. 



152 THE TABEBNACLE. 

It is, therefore requisite that the systems, both of the 
obverse of the tablet and that of the Gudean scale, should 
not transgress this cardinal rule in crucial cases, either 
by overstepping it in larger numbers or by falling short 
of it in lesser numbers. Nor do they. Each conforms to 
it, and the fact that the second division of the Gudean 
scale exhibits five decades in full, and a sixth decade in 
units, shows how completely it fulfils this primary 
condition of acceptance. 



Upon the general agreement of the Gudea Scale with 
the Senkereh tablet the whole case for the Metrology of 
ancient Babylonia here rests. If, however, we compare 
the 3-palm length of the Gudea Scale with the 3-palm 
ell of the tablet, as to their respective fractions, an 
accidental illegibility of the tablet in this portion of its 
obverse will deprive our conclusions of much of their 
force. Two of the original characters alone remain 
(Column II., lines 6-7), each of which requires some 
addition to its value to fit it into the system. The first 
twelve lines of the column, however, are a silent witness 
to the fact that they once bore as many fractions of the 
single palm, and that these twelve relative constituents 
of the palm were also those of the Short Ell, the nexus 
between the two being the unexpressed multiplier 3. 

A hitherto little noticed peculiarity of Column II. is 
the fact that it contained a twofold set of measures. In 
Sections A and B 4 palms are worked out — partly in 



APPLICATION OF THE SCALE. 153 

smaller palm- fractions and partly in digits — to a length, 
of four small ells. The nine digits alone remain as 
evidences of this operation — but they are enough. In 
Section C, which is in much more perfect condition, 
a fresh set of measures is evolved. Here 8 palms are 
worked out into two small reeds — 3 being throughout the 
multiplier of this column. 

In this unusual way two uniformities are maintained. 
One is that the first sub-column in each of Columns II., 
III., and IV. shall consist of 12 palms. The other, that 
the total exhibited in the sixth sub- column of each of the 
columns shall be 2 reeds. It follows that the reeds of 
Column II. consisted of 4 ells, and those of Columns III. 
and IY. of 6 ells each. So radical a dislocation of the 
system could only have been caused by some sufficient 
reason, and have been redeemed by some well-known 
application of these earlier measures. My own suggestion 
is that A and B were goldsmith's or jeweller's measures, 
a suggestion which is supported by evidence that lies 
outside the scope of this chapter. 

This supposed exceptional use of the short ell is limited 
to the upper portion of the column. The third section, 
C, takes its place as giving the fractions of the double 
small reed, which may have had another use. It will be 
remembered that a reference has already been given to 
the fact that the walls of Khorsabad were measured 
in ' spans/ the length of each being that of a small ell 
(=10-8 inches). 

Though -j^- of a foot happens to be the actual length 
of the Gudean scale, we are not at liberty to limit its 



154 



THE TABERNACLE. 



use to this length. Its design, as composed of a single 
and a double palm-length — each clearly separated from 
the other,— would enable any workman to derive from it 
the length of an ell of 4 palms (=yf foot) and one of 
5 palms (=-fo foot). It was not necessary to elaborate 
these in the small space at the disposal of the sculptor, 
nor was it possible. 

The ' palm ' being fundamental in both records before 
us, the following Table will show its fractions as drawn 
from the rule of Gudea. 











Kelation 


Value in 


No. 








to Palm. 


inches. 


(i) 


1 line 


— i 

— 3 


of sossus 


] 
T¥o 


l 

50 


(2) 


2 lines 


2 

— T 


>> 


l 


A 


(3) 


3 lines 


= 1 


sossus 


Wo 


3 
50 


(4) 




2 


sossi 


To 


6 

To 


(5) 




3 


ii 


¥0" 


9 
TO 


(6) 




4 


ii 


] 


1 2 

5 


(7) 




5 


ii 


1 

1 2 


1 5 
"5~0 


(8) 




6 


ii 


TO 


1 8 
5 


(9) 




10 


ii 


1 
6 


-2-S- 
5TT 


(10) 




12 


ii 


"3" 


U 


(11) 




20 


ii 


1 


ii 


(12) 




60 


it 


1 


31 



All these fractions, together with many others of larger 
measures, occur on the obverse face of the Senkereh tablet. 
It is in this coincidence, so often repeated, that we find 
the correspondence of the Gudean scale and the Senkereh 
tablet with the early metric system of Western Asia, 
which hitherto has been unknown. 



BABYLONIAN LENGTH-MEASURES. 155 

This conclusion may prove to be a key which will fit the 
wards of many locks, and may give entrance to new fields 
of investigation, for " science is measurement." 

Taking the human hand as having an average, and 
agreed-upon, width of one-tenth of a yard or three-tenths 
of an English foot, we have in the sixth diagram of the 
series (p. 117) a complete metrological system which begins 
at one-fiftieth of an inch and admits of indefinite extension 
and application. As the experiment of inductive metrology 
has hitherto failed to lead to one definite standard of 
measurement for Accadian and Semitic antiquity, the 
subject of comparative metrology may possibly find in this 
study a solution of some hitherto unexplained variations. 



SUMMAEY OF BABYLONIAN LENGTH- ME ASTTBES. 

I. As derived from the Senhereh Tablet and the Gudean Scale. 
(For fractions of the palm, see ante.) 





ft. 


ms. 


Palm 




3-6 


Small Ell, or Span 




10-8 


Medium Ell 




14-4 


Large Ell 




18-0 


Small Keed (4 SmaU Ells) 


3 


7-2 


Medium Beed (6 Medium Ells) 


7 


2-4 


Large Beed (6 Large Ells) 


9 





Double Small Beed 


7 


2-4 


Double Medium Beed 


14 


4-8 


Double Large Beed 


.. 18 






156 



THE TABERNACLE. 



II. As derived from the Khorsahad Tablet} 





yds. ft. 


ins. 


Span, or Small Ell 




10- 


Half -fathom (=6 Spans) ... 


5 


4- 


Fathom (= 12 Spans) 


10 


9- 


Stade (= 60 Fathoms) 


... 216 





JSTer (= 10 Stades) 


... 2160 






1 The translated inscription of this tablet is given on pp. 221, 222. 



PAET III. 



THE TRIPLE CUBIT OF BABYLONIA 



AS USED IN" THE 



CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE. 



159 



CHAPTER I. 

THE ADJUNCTS AND ACCESSORIES 
OF THE TABERNACLE. 

A MOMENT'S consideration of the subject will make 
it obvious that before the drawing of any plan or 
map from a given specification it is necessary to decide 
upon a scale of measurement to which such drawing 
shall conform. 

If a single length-measure shall have been employed 
in the paraphrase of any specification, it will not greatly 
matter what the adopted scale is. The final result will 
present the same appearance, whether to a ' foot ' be 
given a length of ten or twelve or fourteen inches. But 
there will always remain the underlying disadvantage of 
its not being known what was the actual size of the 
building specified. In a plan so produced the relation 
of its parts one to another may be correct, but it will 
be impossible to say what relation in size the whole 
would have to any existing building. 

This is the condition in which the opening of the 
twentieth century finds the question of the sacred 
buildings of the Jews. All the given measurements 
and descriptions of buildings in Scripture are stated 



160 THE TABERNACLE. 

in ' cubits/ and the length of the cubit has not been 
determined. One well-known metrologist gives it as 
sixteen inches ; another, equally well known, as eighteen 
inches ; while a third, of still higher reputation, gives 
his verdict in favour of twenty inches. 

Not only, therefore, is there uncertainty as to the 
actual size of the Tabernacle and the Temples, but the 
plans and models of these erections have been uniformly 
and necessarily inconsistent within themselves. It has 
been found impossible to carry out the specifications as 
they are written. The difficulties encountered in working 
out and harmonizing the details have been found to 
be insurmountable, and various compromises have been 
adopted. These have been adopted, not from any want 
of scholarship or of patient skill in the treatment, but 
from the fact that one of the main features of the case 
has hitherto been unknown and left out of view. 

The reason for these repeated failures will presently 
appear in the thesis that no single cubit -length could 
possibly succeed in reproducing a structural idea, when 
three such lengths were employed in its inception and 
description. Till this fact has been discovered and acted 
upon, all attempts at the reconstruction, on paper or in 
models, of the buildings of the Bible are of necessity 
foredoomed to error and failure. 

It is in this condition of haziness that the absorbing 
topic of Jehovah's House through thirteen centuries lies ; 
when a discovery has been made which is calculated to 
revolutionize the conception of both savant and saint, 
of Jew and Christian. 



THE BIBLICAL CUBIT ANNOUNCED. 161 

That discovery is that, about a thousand years before 
the birth of Abraham, there were in common and every- 
day use in Mesopotamia three i ells ' or cubit-lengths, 
each of which was applied in a specific and separate 
department of trade and human interest. 

The details and proofs of this discovery were com- 
municated to the members of the Royal Asiatic Society 
in December, 1902, 1 and are published, with corrections, 
as Part II of this volume. 

The conclusions arrived at had previously been an- 
nounced in the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine 
Exploration Society for January, 1902, in the words : 
f There were three cubits of the respective lengths of 
to' Tib an ^ "H °f an English foot, the first of which was 
used exclusively for gold and gold-tapestry work, the 
second for building purposes, and the third for measuring 
areas only/ 2 

Forged upon the anvil of cuneiform research, this key 
will be found to fit the wards of every lock which has 



1 Journal of the Eoyal Asiatic Society, April, 1903, pp. 257-283. 
Art. VIII. — The Linear Measures of Babylonia about b.c. 2500. 

2 Mr. S. Wiseman, of the English Mission Hospital in Jerusalem, whose 
life has heen spent in Palestine, tells me, under date 29th February, 1904, 
that about fifty years ago there were actually three different cubits or ' dira ' 
(arm) in ordinary use in Palestine. They were — 

(1) The diraa baladi (= the common Egyptian cubit), which was used for 
measuring linen, etc., manufactured in Egypt, and is equal to 22§ inches. 

(2) The diraa Istambouli, or cubit of Constantinople, which was used for 
measuring European cloth, etc., and is about 26^- inches. 

(3) The land diraa, used in connection with land measurement, is equal to 
30 inches. 

The difference between these lengths is approximately one of 3*6 inches. 



162 THE TABERNACLE. 

hitherto barred the way to clearer light, and as we proceed 
in these studies it will be found to open the door of 
almost every architectural Bible difficulty, from the days 
of Moses to those of Josephus. 

2. The suggestion has already been made public that 
when Abraham left the land of Mesopotamia he may have 
taken with him the standard length-measures of his 
country. 

This suggestion assumes an air of strong probability 
when we find, as we shall do, that on leaving Egypt, 
and without any reference to the land of their fathers, 
the Hebrews in the wilderness used the Babylonian 
measures for the erection of the Tabernacle. 

The ' pattern ' was showed to Moses in the Mount, and 
the record of that revelation, as contained in the book 
of Exodus, makes no reference to a diversity in the length 
of the cubit. These differences in the meaning of the 
word ' cubit ' were treated as matters of common and 
every-day knowledge. It is as if in our own day public 
tenders were called for certain artistic metal-work, in 
which so many ounces of gold and silver and so many 
ounces of brass and lead were to be used. Neither of 
the parties to such a transaction would require to be told, 
or be expected to record, that the ' ounce ' of the former 
was to be one of 480 grains and the ' ounce ' of the latter 
of 437-J grains. Such a distinction would be a matter 
of ordinary knowledge to each party, and the fact itself 
would, by common custom, be placed beyond the possibility 
of dispute. 



< CUBITS ' OF THREE LENGTHS. 163 

This hypothetical illustration may enable us to under- 
stand how, in the instructions given to Moses for the 
creation of a new Tabernacle, there was no reference 
made to the various lengths of the cubit. None such 
was given as to the length of the single cubit, sup- 
posing but one to have been used ; and none such was 
given as to the length of any other cubit, or cubits, 
that may have been requisite to the carrying out of 
the work. 

The books of the Bible are each of them severely 
compressed, and facts obvious to us, or to those to whom 
they were at the first given, are seldom stated. We 
thus have an experimental right to assume that the 
early metric system of Western Asia, hitherto unknown 
to us, was perfectly familiar to Moses and in common 
use amongst the early Hebrew people. 

These measures, from their use in the construction of 
the Tabernacle, soon assumed a sacred character, and, 
as we proceed adown the stream of time, and pause 
from time to time to survey the erection of this Temple 
or of that, we shall find that they remained unchanged 
during the thirteen centuries of Hebrew national life. 

3. Having laid the foundation of our subject in 
a far-off antiquity, the evidence on its behalf going 
back to a period of from twenty-five to thirty centuries 
before Christ, we may now proceed to build upon it 
those divinely- ordered erections around which the heart 
of Judaism, Moslemism, and Christianity have entwined 
the most tender and sacred associations. 



164 THE TABERNACLE. 

Of these erections, the first in order of time is the 
Tabernacle in the wilderness, the date of which is, 
approximately, 1280 B.C. 1 

In the endeavour to architecturally restore the details 
of this earliest of all the Houses of God, we shall be 
faithful to all the conditions laid upon us by the 
testimony of the Senkereh Tablet and the Gudean 
Scale — witnesses themselves dating from a period as 
long antecedent to the Tabernacle as that was to the 
Christian Era. It is not to be supposed that in the 
infancy of history and in the morning-lands of the 
Bible men were careless or inexact in what concerned 
their religious faith. All the evidence of the inscriptions 
goes to show that the religious faculty of the men then 
living played a more important part in the business of 
life than it does amongst ourselves. Least of all can 
this be supposed of the stock of Abraham. Their 
conservatism of what had already been was intense. 
A minute and particular ritual governed the lives of 
the best men of the nation. The House of Jehovah, 
whether Tabernacle or Temple, was the centre of the 
nation's thought and feeling, and any development or 
reconstruction there was a matter of the most reverent 
and punctilious consideration. Believing the pattern 
showed to Moses in the Mount, and the description 
handed by David to Solomon, to have been God-given 

1 Matters of chronology and of the date of the composition of portions of 
the Old Testament Scriptures lie heyond the range of these pages, though 
the very practical nature of these material reconstructions has an important 
bearing on the historical character of the whole narrative. But see p. 101. 



HEBEEW CONSERVATISM. 165 

and revealed, the priests did not dare to alter or amend 
either of them in any particular in which escape was 
possible. It is in the force of this sentiment of tradition 
that we now find our strongest ally in the endeavour 
to trace the evolution of the Herodian Temple from its 
prototype of the Tabernacle. 



SCALE 

USED IN THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING OF 
THE TABEENACLE 

(With details). 

1 . Cubit used in the plotting of the Tabernacle Court, 1 ft. 6 ins. 

2. Cubit used in the erection of the Tabernacle and Tent, 

Hfeet. 

3. Cubit used in the making of the gold-embroidered Yeil and 

the ten Curtains, 10*8 inches. 




I 

n 



o 
Q 






SIZE OF THE TABERNACLE COURT. 167 

1. The Court of the Tabernacle. 

The books attributed to Moses uniformly speak, in the 
singular number, of ' the court ' in which the Tabernacle 
stood. This form of phraseology is, of course, perfectly 
correct, as the idea of the unity and equal sanctity of the 
whole enclosed area was thus kept prominently before 
the mind. As a matter of fact, however, the enclosure 
followed the precedent of Egyptian temples, in which 
there were two square areas, the temple itself being 
situated in the rearmost of the two. 

In the delimitation of the Tabernacle courts or squares, 
they were placed as lying to the east and west of one 
another ; and each of the areas measured fifty cubits on 
each of its four sides. It is apparent that a cubit of 
18 inches, as the measure of distance, applied to the text 
of Exodus xxvii. 9-18, will give us an enclosed space of 
75 feet in width, by 150 feet in length. 

In this postulate we have the first positive result of the 
recovery of the surveyor's cubit. Here is a conclusion 
w T hich brings into view, from the uncertainties of 
speculation, the first concrete result of a well-ascertained 
fact of metrological lore. The importance of this 
deliverance from the ' might-have-been ' will grow upon 
us as we proceed, and it will culminate in the demonstration 
of its correctness when we come to deal with the area 
upon which stood the Temple of Herod. Till then I must 
ask my readers to hold their final judgment in suspense, 
and to allow the evidence on its behalf to gather as 
we go on. 



168 THE TABERNACLE. 

Noio, we may regard this application of a Babylonian 
length-measure to a problem of Hebrew architecture as 
being on its trial. Then it will be seen that it was not 
empirical. To this Q.E.D. a study of the whole series 
of these maps and plans l is the necessary preliminary. 

A uniform width, of fifty large cubits, with a common 
length of one hundred such cubits given to the court of 
the Tabernacle, is easy to remember as so many half- 
yards. A square of 25 yards was thus the size of each of 
the two rectangles in which, for nearly three centuries, 
the worship of Jehovah was solemnized. 

Are any traces of such an area still to be found ? 
There is still visible at Seilun, the ancient Shiloh, a level 
platform, which, in places, has been cut into the rock to 
the depth of 5 feet. The width of this platform, lying 
on the gentle rise which leads to the village, is 77 feet, as 
compared with the 75 feet required by the scale. This 
coincidence is remarkable in itself, and it is not weakened 
by the fact that the platform itself is 412 feet in length, 
as against the requirement of 150 feet. For the added 
length of about 250 feet I must refer my readers to the 
section of this chapter on the East Gate (pp. 175-8), in which 
it will be seen that such an additional space was required. 

Jeremiah sent the men of his day to Shiloh to see what 
God did to it for the wickedness of Israel (vii. 12). To 
the same desolate spot we may appeal for a portion of the 

1 The author has in preparation volumes similar to this, dealing with 
(a) Solomon's Temple ; (b) Ezekiel's Temple ; (c) Herod's Temple ; in all 
of which the same set of measures will be used, with the same local 
applications. 



TABERNACLE COURT ENCLOSURE. 169 

evidence as to the size of the Tabernacle and its courts. 
Such evidence will be still more complete when we know 
the bearings of the platform longitudinally. It should 
lie, as nearly as the science of that day allowed, in the 
direction of east to west. 1 Some future traveller will, it 
is hoped, enlighten us as to this point, and also as to 
whether the slope of the ground on the upper side affords 
any indication of an approach to the North Gate. 

2. The Enclosure and Hangings of the Tabernacle 
Court. 

Having levelled a space of ground 150 feet long by 
75 feet wide, the next care of the Jewish priests would be 
to enclose it, in accordance with the directions given to 
Moses. These may be seen in the Book of Exodus, where 
we have in chapters xxvi. and xxvii. the incipient account 
or specification, and in chapters xxxvi. to xl. the history 
of the erection. No further reference will be made to 
these chapters in these pages, every reader having them 
at hand, and being supposed to be, or to become, familiar 
with a subject contained in so narrow a literary space. 
No liberties will be taken with the text in this little book. 

Anyone who will take a sheet of paper and pencil 
and will sketch out the places of the sixty pillars on 
which the curtaining was hung 2 — twenty on each north 
and south side, and ten on each west and east — will find 

1 See Introduction, p. xiii. 

2 In doing this, the direction of Exodus xxvii. 14-15 should be borne in 
mind, that there were three lengths of curtaining on either side of the 
East Gate opening. These would require the support of four pillars on each 
side, the corner pillars being counted to the sides. 



170 THE TABERNACLE. 

himself confronted with this difficulty, that twenty pillars 
on each of its larger sides will give but nineteen spaces 
instead of the twenty requisite, the pillars being placed 
at distances of five large cubits apart, reckoning from 
centre to centre. Not only must the cubits here used 
have corresponded in size with those of the area, but 
there must have been some special arrangement made 
by which, while the spirit of the instruction was obeyed, 
the letter of its numbers should not be broken. 

The solution of this difficulty may be seen in the 
detail drawing, opposite, of the Tabernacle court, where 
the pillars are numbered to facilitate reference. 

Several results follow from the adopted method by 
which this drawing is brought into harmony with the 
text. Each of these is thought to be of sufficient 
importance to merit separate mention, inasmuch as we 
are dealing with a portable erection, the details of 
which had a dominating effect upon subsequent structures, 
which were not portable, though evolved from this, and 
designed to serve the same specific purpose. 

Any feature of the Tabernacle, however seemingly 
unimportant, may have been developed and enlarged in 
subsequent Temples, and, unless we can trace its germ 
in the Tabernacle, will remain unaccounted for, and its 
significance be undiscovered. It is for this reason that 
the reader's thoughtful attention is asked to the two or 
three sections that follow. 

The North Gate. 
An examination of the adjoining plan will show that, 




Outline Plan or the Outer Court and Tabernacle. 



172 THE TABERNACLE. 

as there arranged, the sixty pillars around the court left 
a vacancy of one in the circuit. This is not directly 
referred to in the text of Exodus. The mathematics of 
the case, specially the placing of the pillars of the 
East Gate outside the alignment of the court, demand that 
at one point in the perimeter there should be a hiatus of 
15 feet in the curtaining, caused by the inability to 
use a sixty-first pillar. The place of this hiatus has 
been given as between the tenth and eleventh pillars on 
the north side of the altar, in obedience to the direction 
of Leviticus i. 11, that sacrifices were to be slain 'on 
the side of the altar northward.' l 

This was, therefore, the side which would be most 
convenient for the admission of animals to the court 
itself. The worshippers, other than sacrificers, entered 
the court at the east gate. Those who brought living 
animals entered, with them, through the north gate, 
and each sacrificer standing beside his offering, there 
slew it before the Lord, and then took his place beside 
the altar amid the other worshippers. That this remained 
the highest act of temple worship till the days of Christ, 
we know from His words in the Sermon on the Mount 



1 This definition of place would seem to have been thus vague with 
intention, as it permitted of the sacrifices being offered either within or 
without the enclosure of the Tabernacle. In the vision of Ezekiel's Temple 
the larger sacrifices were to be killed without the wall, and the smaller, as 
lambs and goats, within the gate (Ezekiel xl. 39, 40). This was in harmony 
with the law of Leviticus iii., which states that offerings of the herd 
(i.e. cattle) were to be killed at the door of the tent of meeting (verse 2), and 
that sacrifices of the flock (i.e. sheep and goats) were to be killed before the 
tent of meeting (verses 8, 13). That a distinction in place was intended must 
be evident from the change in the terminology. 



THE GATE OF SACEIFICE. 173 

(which, like all other citations, are here taken from 
the Revised Version), ' If, therefore, thou art offering 
thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy 
brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift 
before the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled 
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.' 

The north gate of sacrifice is generally spoken of under 
the name of ' the door of the tent of meeting.' Both it 
and its ' screen* are referred to in Numbers iii. 26, as 
explained in chapter 1 of the history of the Tabernacle 
(pp. 4, 177). It continued to bear this name until after 
the restoration from , Babylon, Zechariah, the son of 
Meshelemiah, having been appointed, in David's time", 
'Northward' (1 Chron. xxvi. 14). In re-recording this 
arrangement the writer of 1 Chron. ix. 21 writes that 
he ' was a porter of the door of the tent of meeting. 7 

The Origin of the Soreg or Fence. 

We have not yet, however, learned all the lessons 
which the discovery of this north gate is capable of 
teaching. Placed where it is, at the junction of the 
two squares (soon to become separate courts), it afforded 
entrance not only to the sacrificing laymen of the Jewish 
Church, but also to its priests. From the beginning to 
the end of the sacrificial dispensation the priests had their 
own separate entrance into the Temple courts. The laity 
being forbidden to set foot within the inner square, 1 there 

1 The supplementary rule by which the laity were excluded from the inner 
court of the sanctuary is given in the words, * Henceforth the children of 
Israel shall not come nigh to the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die ' 
(Numbers xviii. 22). 



174 THE TABERNACLE. 

can be little doubt but that they were (when sacrificing) 
given admission to the outer square by the eastern half 
of the entrance- way on the north. 

At this point comes into view, not clearly, but dimly 
through the haze of far-off centuries, the first inception 
of the Soreg or fence, which played so prominent a part 
in the history of the later temples. 

As the Levites were forbidden to enter the sanctuary 
building or to touch the vessels of its service, but might 
enter the inner court for service (Numbers xviii. 23 ; 
Ezekiel xliv. 11), so those who were neither priests nor 
Levites might enter the outer or eastern court, but might 
not go farther, or come near to the sanctuary of the 
Tabernacle. Permitted to throng around, and even to 
touch, the altar on three of its sides, they were strictly 
forbidden to pass the boundary-line which separated one 
square or court from the other. It, therefore, became 
necessary, from the beginning, to make some upstanding 
line of demarcation between the two, which, while 
restraining the multitude, should allow the sons of Levi 
to pass to and fro from one court to another accomplishing 
the duties of their office. Such a line would seem to have 
been found in a row of young palm-tree pillars planted 
on the marching boundary of the two courts. Every 
other one (i.e. every alternate one) of the spaces thus 
formed was filled with palm-branches interlaced. The 
evidence for this will appear later. Here only it is noted 
as having formed the * fence ' which divided the two 
courts, and had its termination at one end in the centre 
of the north gateway. 



THE GATE OF WORSHIP. 175 

This sacrificial gate is frequently referred to in the 
Pentateuch, alwaj^s under the name of the 'door of the 
tent of meeting/ Early instances are, Exodus xl. 12 ; 
Leviticus i. 3 ; Numbers vi. 10. It is to be carefully 
distinguished from ' The door of the tabernacle of the tent 
of meeting/ which is quite another element of the design. 

From Leviticus viii. 3, 4, we learn that at the con- 
secration of Aaron and his sons all the congregation was 
assembled without this ' door ' or north gate. It thus 
became the place of assembly for all Israel on great 
ceremonial or state occasions (Numbers x. 3 ; Josh. xix. 51). 
From the position of the Shiloh site of the Tabernacle, 
these crowds would stand on gently rising ground, tier 
above tier. There was thus no attempt made to crowd 
' the thousands of Israel ' into the narrow space of the 
outer court, When filled it would not afford standing- 
room for more than 5,000 persons. 

The East Gate. 

A point of cardinal importance to be noted in the 
reconstruction of the eastern side of the court is that 
there were on that side fifteen cubits of 'hangings' in 
each of its corners. That is, there were three spaces 
of five cubits each, involving the use of four pillars on 
the right and four pillars on the left. These having been 
accounted for in the drawing as separate entities, there 
remains the construction of the gate itself. The hangings 
for this were not of fine twined linen, as were all the 
other curtains around the court, but of embroidered work 
in blue, purple, and scarlet, on a foundation of white. 



176 THE TABERNACLE. 

The hangings for the gate of the court were thus similar 
in appearance to the ' screen for the door of the tent ' 
opposite to them. 

Of the fifty cubits of which the width of the court 
consisted throughout, thirty were taken up at its eastern 
side by the two lengths of corner curtaining. Twenty 
remain. To these twenty cubits four pillars were 
specified, giving three spaces of 6f cubits, or exactly 
ten feet to each. 

Two variations from the ordinary appearance of the 
enclosing curtains have now been brought into view. 
One, the embroidered appearance of the screen-of-the- 
gate curtains themselves. The other the greater length 
of each curtain. 

A third appears in the fact that we cannot imagine the 
end pillars of the court and the end pillars of the gate 
as being socketed side by side, and touching one another. 
Such bad form in architecture was impossible to the best 
art of that day, leaving out of view the claim of the 
Tabernacle and its court to have been constructed after 
the ' pattern ' of the Mount. 

It is true that no relative position is given in the 
record to the screen of the east gate. We are not told 
that it was to be in the line of the hangings, or that it 
was to be a certain number of cubits eastward of that 
line. 1 In this very openness of the question is to be 
found the proof of its not having been on the line. 

1 The statement that the height of the screen, in the hreadth of its 
curtains, was answerable to the height in cubits of the hangings of the court 
(Exodus xxxviii. 18), certainly implies that it was a separate erection, and as 
such may have been a removable one. 



VESTIBULE OF THE EAST GATE. 177 

That first authority on Eastern architecture, the late 
James Fergusson, has observed that the word ' gate ' in 
Eastern languages has not the meaning of passage-way, 
with enclosing door attached, which it has in Western 
languages. When it is stated (to take one passage out 
of many) that Mordecai sat in the King's gate, we are 
to understand that in the Persian palace there was either 
a separate hall or a well-defined space to which the 
name was given. The word gate (= shaar) in the Old 
Testament has generally, if not universally, this meaning, 
separate words being used for door (= deleth), threshold 
(=saph), and opening (=pethach). 

It is in this sense that the description in Numbers iv. 26, 
* The screen for the door of the gate of the court/ is to be 
understood. It was a screen of exactly the same width 
as the 'door of the gate,' but placed at some convenient 
distance away from it, so as to screen the opening without 
closing it. 1 That distance was left indeterminate and 
unexpressed, for the reason that it was to be decided by 
the necessities of time and place. The screen of the 
gate was, in fact, a moveable item, so as to meet the 
growth of the nation's numbers in the future. 

It was at the gate of the people, thus understood, that 
the elders sat, on lawful days, for the administration of 
justice. In this space, and within sight of the altar 
fires, the strangers and the foreigners (who were in many 
cases alien slaves) stood to worship the God of Israel 
' afar off/ not being allowed to come within the court of 

1 Josephus speaks of the east gate as haying a 'vestibule ' [Antiq, III. vi. § 2). 



178 THE TABERNACLE. 

the Hebrew people. We thus obtain from a single word, 
when understood in its Eastern sense, a flood of light 
on the early religious polity of the Jews, and as we 
proceed we shall find that, in later ages, the most 
unexpected results were evolved out of this factor of the 
Tabernacle construction. 

We may now, however, return to the site of the 
Tabernacle when at Shiloh. It will be remembered that 
this was found to be of the right width, but 262 feet 
longer than was requisite for the actual court, as it was 
curtained off. In this excess we have the requisite room 
for the placing of the three embroidered curtains which 
marked the eastern extremity of the gate. Standing 
upon this spot, we may recall the judicial scenes of 
Joshua's later life. 

Here Eleazar, the son of Aaron, judged, and here, 
centuries later, Eli sat, and here died. With him died 
also the glory of Shiloh, the site of which is adduced 
to-day as a witness for these pages. 

The Great Altar of Sacrifice. 

On entering the Tabernacle court by either of its 
openings, we find ourselves opposite to the brasen x altar 
of sacrifice. This is so called in these pages in order to 
distinguish it from a small altar, which had its place 
within the holy chambers, and was known as the golden 
altar of incense. 

(A) Approaching the great altar, we find it raised 

1 This is the spelling of this word in the K.V. passim. 



DIMENSIONS OF GREAT ALTAR. 179 

above the ground, by being placed on a platform of sods 
or unhewn stone. No specific instructions as to the height 
and size of this platform are given, thus permitting of 
its enlargement from time to time. Its existence is 
involved in the directions given as to the material of its 
composition, and as to the mode by which it was to be 
ascended. These may be found in the last verses of 
Exodus xx., the word ' altar ' in verses 24 and 25 being 
understood of the altar-base, and in verse 26 of the altar 
itself. 1 Steps were not to be used for the ascent to the 
altar proper, and to the end of the Mosaic economy it 
will be found that the great altar was always reached 
by an inclined plane or slope. 

Mounting this, the worshippers stood beside the altar 
of acacia-wood, overlaid with brass. A full description 
of this is given in the first eight verses of Exodus xxvii., 
and if the scale of the ordinary cubit be applied to this 
specification it will be seen that the original altar of the 
Tabernacle had the appearance of a large shallow box, 
which, when placed upon level ground, required neither 
steps nor slope to reach its topmost ledge, or any part of 
its receptacle for sacrificial meats. It was but three cubits 
(= 3f feet) in height, and was six feet in the square. 2 



1 The altar proper was a box of acacia-wood, covered with brass plates, 
and could not, therefore, be the same as the altar of earth or unhewn stone. 
In Ezra iii. 3 we read, ' they set the altar upon its base.' 

2 If we suppose the altar to have stood upon a base of two cubits in height, 
it would then have the three dimensions of a cube, being six feet in height. 
With the example of the cubic shape of the Holy of Holies before them, this 
was almost certainly the case. In the holy city seen by John the length and 
the breadth and the height of it were equal (Revelation xxi. 16). 



180 THE TABERNACLE. 

It is thus seen that priests desirous of placing on its 
grating sacrificial portions of offerings to be burnt had 
no need to do more than stand beside the altar, and upon 
some portion of the raised platform, the surface-level of 
which had been reached by the slope seen in the drawing. 

It will be noticed that two such slopes are drawn. And 
for this reason : — The altar was always approached from 
the east; in like manner as the court of the Tabernacle 
was entered from the east. It was the most highly valued 
privilege of every worshipping Hebrew to stand beside 
the altar at the crisis of his devotions, or when the fat 
of his sacrifice was being consumed upon it. 1 The touch 
of the brasen altar brought forgiveness and sanctity 
to the sincere penitent. ISTo passage of the Law was to 
him more significantly dear than that which proclaimed, 
' Whosoever toucheth the altar shall be holy ' (Exodus 
xxix. 37). 2 We have the New Testament complement 
of this in the miracle of healing wrought on the woman 
who touched the hem of Jesus' garment, as well as in 
many other of His miracles. 

As, therefore, every son and daughter of Abraham who 
obtained permission to enter the court of the Tabernacle 
availed himself of the right to touch the brasen altar, we 
are to infer, on the great feast days of the Jewish Church, 

1 ' I will wash my hands in innocency ; so will I compass Thine altar, 
Lord' (Psalms xxvi. 6). 

'The altar that sanctifieth the gift' (Matthew xxiii. 19). This was an 
extension of the same principle, from persons to things inanimate. 

2 The same sanctity attached to the tent of meeting and all its contents, 
to the laver, and to all the vessels of the altar (Exodus xxx. 26-29). These, 
however, neither Levites nor people were allowed to touch. 



POSITION OF GREAT ALTAR 181 

a constant stream of suppliants ascending by the east 
slope and descending by the south slope. That in the 
Temples the descent and exit were to the south will be 
shown in later pages of these volumes: the slopes them- 
selves always being of the same width as the altar to 
which they led. 

(B) "What was afterwards called the * bosom ' of the 
altar l now merits a moment's attention. This was the 
hollow space in which the fat of all sacrifices, and the 
sacrificial joints of all burnt-offerings, were placed, so as 
to be consumed by the fire which burned below. A brass 
grating, in one or more pieces, formed the bottom or floor 
of this receptacle. This was placed half-way up the altar, 
and rested upon interior ledges. The fire itself, divinely 
kindled and never allowed to go out, burned on the 
hearth, i.e. on the upper surface of the platform, which 
was about 21 inches below the grating (Exodus xxxviii. 
1-7). 2 

(C) It is most desirable to fix the exact position of 
the altar with relation to the Tabernacle. These two 
divinely-ordered erections cannot rightly be said to occupy 
first and second places in regard to each other. Hence 
it is improper to say either that the Tabernacle belonged 
to the altar or the altar to the Tabernacle. Each had its 
own court or square, and in that had the first place. 



1 Ezekiel xliii. 13, margin. 

2 The distinction between these is referred to in Ezekiel xliii. 15, where 
the hearth, on the upper surface of the platform, is spoken of as Ariel, or the 
Lion of God, owing to its fiery powers of destruction. The actual altar that 
stood above this is called Harel, the Mountain of God. 



182 THE TABERNACLE. 

From Exodus xl. 29, and Leviticus i. 5 ; iv. 7, there 
can be no doubt that tbe altar was brought as near to 
the Tabernacle as possible ; other factors show that its 
western edge was placed on the Soreg, or boundary-line 
which separated the two courts. 1 This involved that a part 
of the platform on which it stood should have been built 
in the inner court, as is shown in the outline-plan of 
the court and Tabernacle already given (p. 171). This 
arrangement was continued in the temples. 

Philo, an Alexandrian Jew, who wrote 40 a.d., says 
that the two sides and the back of the Tabernacle court, 
i.e. the clear spaces, were all of equal width, whereas the 
space in front was fifty cubits square. 

This position for the Tabernacle within its court is 
quite in harmony with the fitness of things, and is one 
that would commend itself to the orderly and reverential 
mind of the early Hebrew. By adopting it in the 
accompanying drawings, and giving to each side of 
the platform a length of 18 feet, 2 we find that there 
was just room for the brasen laver in its appointed 



1 The line of the Soreg, on each side of the 6 feet altar, to the edge of 
the court was 34| feet. The spaces, alternately filled and unfilled, were 
conjecturally each 1\ cubits (= 3 feet) in width. Ten such were on either 
hand, leaving a space of 4|- feet on the platform where the priests might pass 
and repass. There was thus an indication of the Soreg, on the platform, of 
eighteen inches. 

2 As the platform had relations in size with the altar, which was built in 
medium cubits, and with the width of the court, which was measured in large 
cubits, it is necessary to find a figure which is commensurate with both. This 
is found in the identity of twelve large cubits and fifteen medium cubits, each 
being 18 feet. This gave a walk six feet wide on each of the four sides of 
the altar. 



PRE-TABERNACLE TENT OF WORSHIP. 183 

place ' between the tent of meeting and the altar ' 
(Exodus xxx. 18). 1 

There was thus no passage-way between the altar and 
the Tabernacle, 2 a fact which is full of profound 
significance to the devout mind. This was all the more 
striking, as it was on the western corners of the altar 
that the sacrificial and atoning blood was sprinkled, the 
remainder being poured out into the drain at its foot. 

The Tent of the Tabernacle. 
Any proposed delineation or model of the tent of 
meeting, which does not allow of a distinction being made 
between the Tabernacle and the tent of the Tabernacle, 
must err in a point of palmary importance. It is to 
be observed that there was, in the wilderness of Sinai, 
both an altar and a tent of meeting, before there teas 
a Tabernacle. Immediately after the covenant of the 
Ten Commandments had been ratified by their formal 
popular acceptance, Moses built an altar under the Mount, 
and set up, near it, twelve memorial pillars, one for each 
of the Tribes of Israel (Exodus xxiv. 4). It was when 
standing beside this altar and these pillars that the 
people were cleansed with the ' blood of sprinkling.' 

1 A section of the inner court, taken from west to east, would give :-r- 

Space behind Tabernacle 13 cubits = 19^ feet. 

Length of Tabernacle 32 cubits = 48 ,, 

Space for laver 1 cubit = 1^ ,, 

Projecting portion of altar-base ... 4 cubits =6 ,, 

50 75 

2 The blood of some sacrifices was sprinkled ' upon the side of the altar ' 
(Leviticus v. 9). That of others, ' round about upon the altar ' (Lev. i. 5). In 
neither case would the priest require to stand between the altar and the Temple. 



184: THE TABERNACLE. 

After the account of the first forty days spent in the 
Mount (Exodus xxiv. 18) we have the curious statement 
that Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it without 
the camp, afar off from the camp, and he called it the 
tent of meeting (Exodus xxxiii. 7). By which we are 
to understand that the outspread covering forming the 
tent proper was carried to and fro between the camp 
and the altar, and was hung upon the twelve pillars 
standing there only on Sabbaths and at such times as 
the worship of Jehovah was in progress. 

This temporary arrangement was ended by the 
realization of the vision shown to Moses during his 
second stay of forty days in the Mount (Exodus xxxiv. 28), 
when the plan of the altar and of a permanent and 
portable place of worship was showed to him, being the 
pattern of things in the Heavens. 

During the five or six months in which the new 
Tabernacle was being built (it was reared up on the 
first day of the second year of the Exodus) the old 
transition state of affairs remained, and divine worship 
continued at the altar and pillars which stood at the 
nether part of the Mount. 

"We cannot conceive, the twelve tribes remaining, that 
the twelve memorial pillars of witness standing for them 
and on their behalf, beside the altar, should have suffered 
any alteration of number in the new erection. As the 
names of the tribes were engraven on the twelve stones 
of the breastplate, so the dedicated pillars of the new 
Tabernacle could not be other than twelve in number. 

The recognition of this principle of continuity brings 



PILLAES OF THE TABEENACLE. 185 

into view the first element of the tent of the Tabernacle 
which is to claim our attention. It is that of the three 
pillars which supported the ridge - pole of the tent. 
These are not expressly mentioned in the accounts given 
to us of the Tabernacle, either in its specification or 
its description. But their existence is necessary, not 
only to retain the number of pillars in the Tabernacle 
as twelve, four and five others being mentioned, but 
also to support the ridge - pole, which is spoken of as 
'the middle-bar, passing through in the midst of the 
boards from the one end to the other ' (Exodus xxxvi. 33). 
These pillars being granted as essential to the support 
of the tent (as distinguished from the Tabernacle), we 
have to consider next the covering curtains, which 
stretched across the ridge-pole and, fastened down on 
either side by tent-pegs, formed the outer covering of the 
holy chambers, and is referred to in the closing chapter 
of Exodus (xl. 18-19) in the distinctive double record — 
1 And Moses reared up the Tabernacle .... and he 
spread the tent over the Tabernacle and put the covering 
of the tent above upon it.' 

The Eleven Curtains. 

In the above citation we have brought before us the 
two elements of which the covering of the tent consisted, 
there being now no question of the Tabernacle, or any 
portion of it, within view. These two elements were : 
the woven fabric which formed the outspread tent 
proper ; and its ' covering ' which, from the name given 



186 



THE TABERNACLE. 



to it, we know to have been its outer protection against 
the vicissitudes of the weather — rain, hail, sun, and storm. 




The Eleven Curtains. 

( The shading shows the portions of covering which overhang ends 

and sides.) 



hnm 



htmh h U 



*<> 



SJo 



3,0 



3 



Scale op Medium Cubits. 
2& <3o 



Scale oe English Feet. 



The former of these, the tent-spread, was ordered to be 
woven in eleven strips, and to be composed of goat's hair, 
dyed in three colours. 1 It is the width given to these 

1 Five curtains were blue, three scarlet, and three purple. It may not be 
altogether chimerical to give some traditions as to the shades of the colours 
employed. The blue was that of the wild hyacinth flower, or that of the 



THE ELEVEN CUETAINS OF THE TENT. 187 

eleven curtains which has hitherto been a stumbling- 
block to all restorers of the Tabernacle. The late 
James Fergusson, writing in Smith's Bible Dictionary , 
declares the problem to have been till then insoluble. 
It is true that he advances a theory, which, being based 
upon the assumption that there was but a single cubit- 
length, is as inadmissible as any that had preceded it. 

Let us now proceed to state the conclusions to which 
we are brought by the new theory of the triple-cubit, as 
derived from Babylonia, and embodied in the erections 
described in the chapters of this volume. Before doing 
so, however, it is necessary to deal with another factor of 
the area to be covered in, hitherto unmentioned. 

That factor is the porch which stood before the 
Tabernacle. Here, again, we are met by the brevity and 
ambiguity of the Hebrew records. When once the clue to 
the structural meaning of the writers has been obtained, 
it is not difficult so to follow it as to find in the pages of 
the Pentateuch abundant proofs of there having been 
a porch, and to discover many references to it in the 
terminology of the Old Testament. Josephus shall be 
our guide here. From his Antiquities of the Jeivs we 
learn that the Tabernacle consisted of three parts, into 
two of which the priests went daily in the course of their 
ministrations. But into the third the High-priest went 
but occasionally. This we know to have been the 



colour of a sapphire stone. The purple was akin to that of porphyry. 
Some of the later Roman royal statues have the heads of marble and the 
dress of porphyry, as representing the actual colour of the robe. The scarlet 
was of a blood-red colour. 



188 THE TABERNACLE. 

Holy of Holies. The middle one of the three spaces 
was that known as the Holy Place, 'wherein were the 
candlestick, and the table, and the shew-bread ' (Hebrews 
ix. 2). Outside of this was a third space, presumably of 
the same area as the Holy of Holies, to which is given 
the name of the Porch, though this was not its designation 
till the building of the Temple. In Exodus, Leviticus, 
and Numbers, it is usually spoken of as ' the door of the 
Tabernacle.' A previous section of this chapter has 
already shown to us the Eastern and archaic meaning 
of the word ' gate/ as a defined space, and not a mere 
entrance -threshold or passage-way. In harmony with 
this meaning is that of the word 'door' as used in the 
description of the Tabernacle, now before us. 

The adoption of this ancient signification as applied to 
the texts in which the ' door of the Tabernacle ' is spoken 
of, will at once relieve us of two great architectural 
difficulties which have till now baffled all reconstructions. 

One of these is the allocation of the five pillars. These 
are spoken of as being the five pillars for the screen 
of the door of the tent, and as standing in five sockets 
of brass. It is not, however, necessary to suppose, as 
does Fergusson, that all the five pillars were used 
simultaneously on which to hang the screen of the 
door. All were provided with golden hooks for this 
purpose, as, in a portable structure, sometimes one pillar 
would be used and sometimes another. All had their 
capitals and fillets gilded, with the same object of inter- 
changeability. The screen, which had a requisite width 



THE SCREEN OF THE TABEKNACLE. 189 

of twelve feet only, was hung upon two of the pillars at 
its two upper corners, 1 the centre of the screen being 
supported (if necessary) by an attachment to one of the 
three tent-poles which stood in the same line as the two 
inner pillars. 



,f 



WA 

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i 4 



ssfa 



The Screen of the Tabernacle. 

^«o So, 






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ha 



6' c 



Scale op Medium Cubits. 






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Scale of English Feet. 



By this arrangement of the five pillars, as figured upon 
the Tabernacle plan (p. 171), we avoid Fergusson's departure 



1 Like the veil of the inner sanctuary, the screen of the door was hung on 
the inner or western face of its supporting pillars. As it was rectangular, and 
fifteen cubits or eighteen feet in length, it passed upward between the eighth 
and ninth curtains of the tent. These being coupled together by a single 
attachment at their centre, permitted of this. This single coupling likewise 
permitted of the three and the eight curtains being hung at different angles, 
as shown in the accompanying representations. The portion of the tent 
which covered the Tabernacle was thus ' screened ' from the view of 
worshippers while standing around the altar. 



190 THE TABERNACLE. 

from the text in having six such pillars. We also gain the 
third space claimed by Josephus in his Antiquities, III. vi. 
§ 4, and vii. § 7. Thirdly, we satisfy the requirements 
of the text as to the conjoined width of the eleven 
curtains of goat's hair. 

These requirements are that each of the eleven curtains 
should have a width, of four cubits (= 4-f- feet), giving 
a total width, when conjoined, of 524 ^ ee ^- ^ tne eleven, 
one was deducted from this extension by being hung, in 
halves, over either end of the tent, leaving 48 feet of 
curtaining to deal with. The application of the medium 
cubit to the Tabernacle boards will show that the Holy 
of Holies was a cube of 12 feet, and that the Holy Place 
had a length of 24 feet. To these we must now add the 
area of the newly-recovered porch, which we suppose to 
have had a floor-superficies of 12 feet square. In these 
three areas we have the space required to be covered in 
by the 48 feet of which the goats'-hair curtain consisted, 
when its component parts were placed side by side and 
coupled together, one width having been deducted for 
flap- ends. 

The Ram-skins dyed red. 

The eleven curtains of woven goats' hair formed the 
tent proper. This was spread over the Tabernacle, and 
there was prepared for it a special ' covering ' in order 
to its preservation. This was put * above upon it/ as 
stated in Exodus xl. 19. 

In the LXX. version of Exodus xxvi. 7 the translation 
of the Greek reading is, ' Thou shalt make for a covering 



EXTERNAL COVERINGS. 191 

of the Tabernacle skins with the hair on.' These were 
the ram-skins, dyed red, which we are told the people 
contributed for this purpose. 

There is no reason to conclude that these skins were 
those of sheep rather than those of goats. The probability 
is the other way, the inner ten curtains being woven of 
wool, the outer eleven of goats' hair. The presumption 
is that the skins sewn together, with the hair unremoved, 
which rested on the latter, were those of goats, as the 
Hebrew prejudice against commingling is well known. 
Not only are the skins of goats more durable than those 
of sheep, and therefore fitter for this purpose, but the 
fact of their being dyed red would seem to indicate that 
this was done to avoid the exhibition of the many colours 
common to goat- skins. With the hair turned one way in 
making up, these skins would form an outer covering, 
impervious to rain. 

Besides the outer covering to the tent of goat-skins 
dyed red, there was also a covering of porpoise hides above 
that (margin, Exodus xxvi. 14). 

I apprehend this to have been merely a series of these 
waterproof skins which lay above the ridge-pole, and 
protected the central seam of the goat-skins. 

I am confirmed in this view by a remark in the Jewish 
treatise on the Tabernacle, cited by Barclay (Talmud, 
p. 338), that the covering-above of the tent was 'like 
patchwork/ i.e. like a piece of cloth upon a garment. 
To this may be added the fact, recorded in the 4th chapter 
of Numbers, that on the removal of the Tabernacle from 



192 THE TABERNACLE. 

one site to another, certain articles of its furniture were 
to be wrapped in these porpoise-skins. They were these 
six : the Ark of the Covenant, the table of shew-bread, 
the golden candlestick, the altar of incense, the brasen 
altar of sacrifice, and all the vessels used in the sanctuary. 
It is thus evident that these porpoise-skins were not sewn 
together, and that they were at least six in number. 

Porpoise hides are still a valuable trade commodity on 
the shores of the Red Sea, and an ancient Cuneiform 
inscription states that ' skins of sea-calves ' were amongst 
the articles of tribute sent by Hezekiah to Sennacherib. 
There is every reason, therefore, to infer that they were 
used in the construction of the Tabernacle at Sinai, as 
porpoises have always abounded in the Gulfs of Suez and 
of Akabah. 



193 



CHAPTER II. 

THE TABERNACLE WITHIN 
THE TENT. 

' HHHE Tent (=ohel) which, was the covering thereof/ 
-"- having been shown to have been a secondary and 
separate construction to the Tabernacle (= mishkan), we 
are now in a position to deal with the fabric which was 
the ordained place of meeting for Jehovah and His people, 
as represented in the person of their High-priest. 

We are thus at liberty to assume that the command 
'Let them make Me a sanctuary' (Exodus xxv. 8) was 
an entirely new idea to the faithful, and marked a distinct 
epoch in the religious history of the world. 

The way in which this command was carried out is 
now to engage our attention, and it may be of advantage 
to know that no insuperable difficulties will be met with, 
either in the piecing together of its various parts or in 
the placing of the whole within the limits of the tent 
built for its protection and seclusion. 

1. The Floor of the Tabernacle. 
As both tent and Tabernacle were constructed with 
the idea of their removal from place to place, it may be 



194 THE TABEEJSTACLE. 

advisable to deal, first, with the way in which stability- 
was given to the framework of the latter. Each of its 
forty-eight boards had two tenons morticed into every 
board. These tenons, when in use, were placed in sockets 
of silver, there being ninety- six such sockets for the forty- 
eight boards, and four others for the four pillars of the 
veil — 100 in all. Each socket was cast or wrought in 
a talent of silver, and was of considerable weight. 1 
I do not think that these sockets were driven into the 
ground, or even placed in holes dug for the purpose, 
but that they were placed on carefully levelled ground, 
and a stone pavement built up around them. This form 
of masonry was largely used in the Temples on Mount 
Zion, and I incline to the belief that it was adopted 
there from the usage of the Tabernacle. In Exodus 
xl. 18 the sockets are said to have been ' laid.' 

A further consideration, looking in the same direction, 
is this : — In the vision of the God of Israel given to the 
seventy elders and others, described in Exodus xxiv., 
' there was under His feet as it were a paved work of 
sapphire stone.' This revelation was given before that 
of the Tabernacle, and would be associated with it in the 
minds of the beholders. It is, therefore, probable that 
the floor of the Tabernacle and tent was at all times 
paved with stone — a precaution easy to be carried out 

1 Professor Petrie estimates the weight of a talent of gold at 135 lbs. troy, 
and to contain 160 cubic inches of gold (Hastings' Dictionary, art. Goldsmith). 
The same weight of silver would produce a brick of half-a-cubit (=7*2 inches) 
in length (which dimension, or some fraction thereof, is imperative), of the 
same height, and of half the same width, when the socket had been 
allowed for. 



THE WALLS OF THE TABEENACLE. 195 

in the desert, and necessary to the cleanliness of the 
building. The present paving on Mount Moriah may be 
a relic of this early custom. It is five acres in extent. 

2. The Boards of the Tabernacle. 

1. We have an exact account of the forty-eight boards 
or planks which, when placed on end, formed three of 
the four sides of the Tabernacle. Of these, twenty stood 
on the north side and twenty on the south side of the 
Tabernacle. Six others formed the west wall, and two 
were the corner-pieces of the erection. These last are 
described 1 as having been cut, in a single piece, out of 
the trunk of a tree, and so adzed and hollowed as to form 
an angle, not requiring the use of pegs or nails. This is 
taken to be the primary meaning of the rather laboured 
description in the 24th verse of Exodus xxvi. 

"With the secret of the cubit-length before us, it should 
not be impossible to discover the exact size of the forty- 
eight boards. The text informs us as to two of their 
dimensions. Josephus shall aid us as to their third. Ten 
cubits being stated to be the length of each board, we 
take twelve English feet as the equivalent of this. 
A cubit and a half being the breadth of each board, we 
may know that it was 2 If inches in width. These are 

1 By Josephus in loco. His words are, ' They made two other pillars, and 
cut them out of one cud it, which they placed in the corners.' The meaning 
evidently is, that the tree-stem when squared was a cuhit square. This was 
then cut out, on two of its sides, so as to leave an angle of a palm in thick- 
ness. The cubit here is thus one of three hand-breadths, as the total 
measurements show. 



196 



THE TABERNACLE. 



measures that are not impossible, when we remember 
that the Sinaitic peninsula still contains trees from which 
such planks may be cut, and that it was more thickly- 
wooded in ancient times than it is now. 




The Forty-eight Boards. 




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tScczle of JWGcHiJsyi Cithits. 



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aSccjIg of Eng lish J^het. 



As to the thickness of each plank, Josephus tells us 
(Antiquities, III. vi. § 3) that they were four fingers in 
thickness, and again, in the same paragraph, that the 
thickness was the third part of a span. We thus arrive 
at the conclusion that the palm of 3*6 inches was taken 
as the standard of their through-measure, and that three 



HOLY CHAMBERS EXACT IN SIZE. 197 

such palms made a span or small cubit, which testimony- 
is in harmony with all that we learn elsewhere on each 
of these points. 

2. We now come to an architectural point of some 
importance in its bearing upon the internal measures 
of the two holy chambers, which is that of the place 
occupied by the veil which separated them, and of the 
screen which hid them. It is this : — Six boards, each 
of 1J cubits in width, stood at the west end of the 
Tabernacle. Together, they gave nine cubits of walling, 
leaving the tenth to be made up, in halves, by the two 
corner-boards which held the fabric together. It is 
obvious that to secure the ten cubits in width of which 
the Holy of Holies consisted, this half-cubit (=2 palms) 
must have been taken from the inner angle of each of 
the corner-boards, and not have been their outside 
measurement. Thus far there is no difficulty as to the 
appropriation of the spaces created by the up-rearing of 
the corner-boards. 

But one now comes into view. It arises thus : — On 
either of the two sides of the Tabernacle, north and south, 
there stood twenty boards, giving 30 cubits (=36 feet). 
This is the measure of the two chambers jointly, one 
being 10 and the other 20 cubits in length. 

Just as, however, there was half-a-cubit in each of 
the corner - boards added to complete the west side, so 
there must have been half-a-cubit to add to the length 
of each of the other sides, the angular shape of the 
corner-boards being remembered. This was, therefore, 



198 THE TABEBNACLE. 

an 'excess* above what was required. Half an ordinary- 
cubit, or two palms width, was the measure of this 
excess, and its disposal has been arrived at by the 
creation of a model of the Tabernacle, in which it is 
found that a space of one palm (= 3*6 inches) is required 
for the four pillars supporting the veil between the 
chambers, and another palm for the pillars of the screen 
which closed in the holy chambers. 

The chambers themselves were thus of the exact interior 
measures given, and the whole account is justified as that 
of supreme wisdom guiding an architect to the creation 
of a meeting - place for God and man, in which the 
utmost exactitude and simplicity are joined to the greatest 
reverence and dignity. 

3. The Veil and its Four Pillars. 

The Yeil of the Tabernacle has for us a peculiar interest, 
as it was the only part of the original structure which 
remained unchanged while the sanctuary of God stood. 
The first two Evangelists tell us that in the Herodian 
Temple it was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, 
and Luke adds that this total separation of its parts was 
'in the midst/ The writer of Hebrews x. 20, in a single 
line, fixes its symbolic meaning in the words, ' The veil, 
that is to say, His flesh.' 

Known unto God are all His works from the beginning, 
and a singular sanctity attached to the curtain which 
divided the two holy chambers from one another. The 
material of which it was composed was wool, dyed in the 



THE YEIL OF THE SANCTUARY. 



199 



three sacred colours of blue, purple, and scarlet. 1 This 
formed the woof, the warp being composed of fine twined 
linen. 2 To mark its separateness the whole nation was 
forbidden to wear a mingled stuff — wool and linen 
together 3 (Deut. xxii. 11); just as they were forbidden 
to make any unguent composed like the holy oil with 
which High-priests were consecrated. 




The Inner Veil. 

The veil, being woven 4 in a single piece, to a size of 
12 feet square, which we now know was the size of the 
opening between the chambers, was then embroidered in 
gold thread with the forms of three or more cherubim. 
The materials of which the High-priest's ephod was 
composed were the same as those of the inner veil, and 
it is in the description of this (Exodus xxxix. 2-3) that 



1 Both wool and mohair were dyed in the bulk and spun, when presented 
for weaving (Exodus xxv. 25, 26). 

2 ' The warp is nothing hut fine linen ' (Josephus, Ant. III. vii. § 2). 

8 This was permitted to the priests only (Josephus, Ant. IV. viii. § 11). 

4 Weaving was one of the arts used (Exodus xxxv. 35). The Bedaween 
women of to-day spin, dye, and weave wool and hair for their tents. The 
strips when woven are about a yard wide. 



200 THE TABERNACLE. 

we find an account of how the work of embroidering the 
Cherubs was effected. The artist is always spoken of as 
' the cunning workman/ and his gold embroidery as the 
work of the cunning workman. ' They did beat the gold 
into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the 
blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the 
fine linen. ' 

Besides the High-priestly robes and the veil of the 
sanctuary, the only other fabrics so embroidered were 
the ten curtains which enclosed the Tabernacle in the 
whole of its length. 

As to all these, there is one feature which calls for 
remark. It is, that the embroidery, and possibly the 
woven tapestry of which the whole set consisted, had no 
wrong or seamy side. In the subsequent days of the 
Judges we have, in the Song of Deborah, a description of 
the spoil which it was hoped Sisera would take from the 
Hebrews. Its last item was : A spoil of divers colours ; 
a spoil of divers colours of embroidery ; of divers colours, 
embroidered on both sides (Judges v. 30). 

Such was the famous embroidery work of the Egyptians, 
where the art of its creation, lost among ourselves, still 
survives. Such too, in all likelihood, was the goodly 
Babylonish mantle which Achan coveted and stole at Ai. 

This veil or curtain, heavy with gold thread, but 
having no measurable thickness, was hung upon the 
inner side of the four pillars l which stood, in their silver 



1 Exodus xxvi. 33 is not to be literally understood, but generally, in its first 
clause. The ' veil ' was 12 feet from the west end, and the * clasps ' 18 feet. 



THE FIGURED CURTAINS. 



201 



sockets, between the two chambers. 1 Once in every year 
the curtain was lifted, and the High-priest, clothed in 
robes of white linen, entered, to make atonement for 
himself and for the sins of the people. 




Nir^r 



The Ten Curtains. 

Scale of Small Cubits. 

jto 2£$ 3<» 



Scale of English Feet. 



1 These four pillars would give three inter-columnar spaces. If to each 
of these he given a width of three cuhits (3f feet) , one cuhit remains, in which 
to place the hases of the pillars. As the cubit here used was one of four 
palms, it is inevitable that each pillar should have stood in a square of 
3" 6 inches. This was the width of the ' excess ' in this part of the Tabernacle, 
as has been already shown (pp. 197-198). 



202 THE TABERNACLE. 

4. The Ten Curtains. 

1. The ten curtains which overhung the Tabernacle 
were of similar make and ornamentation to the veil of the 
Holy of Holies, already described. We have, however, 
in their case a factor given in the specification which we 
have not in the case of the veil. It is that of their 
measurement. To them is given, in Exodus xxvi. 2, 
a width of 4 cubits and a length of 28 cubits. Being 
embroidered with figures of cherubim worked in gold 
thread, they naturally fell under the goldsmith's measure 
of construction, as we cannot suppose that different 
measures were used in the preparation of the same 
article. When conjoined, their width would thus be 
40 small cubits, equal to 30 medium cubits (=36 feet). 
Thirty cubits and a half being the length of the 
Tabernacle boards when placed in position, it will be 
seen that the ten curtains nearly enclosed it on its 
upper side. The union of the two sets of five curtains 
in the middle would allow of the protrusion there of 
the second tent-pole of the three which supported the 
ridge-bar. 

The diameter of this tent-pole we may appropriately 
suppose to have been that of a palm of 3*6 inches, in 
which case it is permissible to think that the 50 loops in 
each selvedge of the two edge - curtains l were of this 

1 The loops were of a blue colour (Exodus xxvi. 4), as also were the fire 
non- embroidered curtains which overhung the Holy- of- Holies. This we 
know from the fact that five such curtains are specified to be used in the 
removal of the Tabernacle furniture (Numbers iv.). These, of course, 



VENTILATION OF THE CHAMBERS. 203 

length when joined together. The other palm - length, 
requisite for the fitting of the curtains so as to wholly 
cover the Tabernacle boards, was obtained by placing 
the front tent -pole and the two inner pillars of the 
porch within the range of the upright boards forming 
the sides of the Tabernacle. In this way the literal 
accuracy of the text is preserved, as well as the 
construction difficulties overcome. We gain, at the same 
time, a reason for there being so many as 50 couplings in 
the union of each of the two sets of curtains, they being 
3 '6 inches apart, while there was but a single one in all 
other cases, which one was at the centre. 

This open space, overhead, in the middle of the 
sanctuary, served another purpose than that of allowing 
the passage of the tent-pole. 

Not only was there the refuse air from the seven- 
branched candlestick which was lit every night, but 
there were the clouds of incense, which was burned 
twice daily in the holy place, to get rid of. It was 
therefore in obedience to that sanitary law which 
pervades the enactments by Moses, that there should be 
the means of thorough and constant ventilation in the 
Tabernacle. 

2. The use of a single cubit-length in the conception 
of the Tabernacle has hitherto rendered abortive all 



were the curtains of goats' hair, three others being scarlet and three purple. 
It is probable that the purple curtains overhung the porch, as Josephus, who 
had seen them, tells us that the curtains of the porch in the Temple of Herod 
were 'purple' (War of the Jews, VII. vi. § 7). 



204 THE TABERNACLE. 

attempts at its reconstruction. Two illustrations of the 
difficulties encountered may be given. One is from the 
English translation of the Bible, 1576 a.d., known as 
the Geneva or 'Breeches' Bible. A marginal note to 
a woodcut of the first covering of the Tabernacle reads, 
' Two curtains and a half hung from the rear of the 
Tabernacle.' While in the Gemara on the treatise 
Shabat, the Rabbins say : ' The ten curtains were of 
28 cubits. Take away 10 for the roof, there remain 
9 cubits to this side and 9 to that. So that one cubit 
of the boards was uncovered.' 

It is thus evident that while the Jewish authorities of 
old days had lost sight of the short cubit as applicable 
to the ten curtains, they did not, as did Mr. Eergusson, 
suppose other than that they hung directly over the 
boards of the Tabernacle. The recovery of the true 
length of these curtains — their width has already been 
dealt with — enables us to see that of the length given to 
each and every curtain of the ten, of 25^- feet, 12 were 
taken to cover the interior spaces of the two holy 
chambers. Of the remainder, ^ of a foot, on either 
side, rested on the gilded boards of the Tabernacle walls. 
Of the remainder of each curtain, exactly one-quarter, 
or 6 T 3 ¥ feet of either end, hung down on the outer side 
of the boards. As these boards were 12 feet in length 
above the floor, it is easy to see that they were covered 
to but little more than one-half of their length. The 
importance of this conclusion, so different from that of 
the Jewish Rabbis of old, will presently appear in the 
fact that the priests on duty at the Tabernacle had their 



THE TENT PORTABLE. 205 

resting- places beneath the eaves of the tent. Had the 
curtains fallen as low as has been generally supposed, 
this would have been impossible, owing to the liability 
of their being soiled. 



5. The Stability of the Tent. 

1. The Tabernacle and its tent were for nearly three 
centuries the central home of Jewish monotheistic worship. 
During these centuries portions of it would, from time 
to time, require repair and renewal. Of these domestic 
details there are naturally no records, if we except the 
statement of the Mischna that the curtains of the last 
Temple were renewed every year, and that the material 
of the disused curtains was used as wicks for the lamps 
of the Temple. 

What is, perhaps, of more importance for us to know, 
as tending to the credibility of the narrative, is how, 
during this long period, the frail and portable con- 
structions of tent and Tabernacle, when once erected, 
maintained their stability against the stress of wind and 
weather. 

Regarding the former, there can be little doubt, from 
the silence of Scripture, that the three tent-poles on which 
the whole depended were placed in holes dug into the 
ground, and firmly planted. They were simply a transfer 
to the new system of the old arrangement by which all 
twelve pillars stood beside the altar. Hence they were 
neither placed in sockets of any kind, nor was gilding 



206 THE TABERNACLE. 

applied to any part of them. 1 Their height above ground 
required to be 18 English feet, and we may suppose them 
to have been of the not impossible length of 20 feet. 

This length was the utmost that was required in any 
single piece of timber in the whole fabric, as neither the 
side-bars nor the ridge-bar (which was in two pieces) 
required to be of any more than 18 feet. A fact such as 
this tends to bring the whole account within the region 
of possibility, and goes some way to dispel doubts as to 
the historicity of the whole narrative. 

2. When the three pillars of the tent were placed 
in position, and the middle, or ridge-bar, was placed 
above them, its junction resting on the centre-pole, the 
eleven curtains would be stretched across it. Here comes 
into view one of the previsions of the heaven-instructed 
plan. For these eleven curtains were not sewn together, 
but might be separately put into their places. 2 It is 
true they were ' coupled together/ but this was probably 
done after their elevation. A single loop of one was 
placed within a single opposite loop of its neighbour, 
and a peg of brass (gold for the inner curtains) inserted 
to keep it in its place. A single button of this kind was 



1 As no directions as to them were requisite, they are unmentioned. The 
want of an historic imagination has long hid them from sight, and it is 
possible that there are extreme literalists who still refuse to accept them. 
Their recovery is due to Fergusson, as is that of the centre -bar or ridge-pole 
which they supported. 

2 This follows from the minute instructions given in Numbers iv. for the 
removal of the Tabernacle. Six articles were to have covering of porpoise- 
skins, five of curtains of blue, and one each of scarlet and purple. 



THE CURTAINS NOT SEWN. 207 

all the attachment required. 1 This was uniformly placed 
mid - centre, and hung above the ridge - pole. This 
arrangement also made possible the covering of the 
porch, as shown in the drawing (p. 166). To it there was 
one exception. Between the fifth and sixth curtains fifty 
such double loops were specified. The reason for this 
particular has not yet been discovered, unless it were to 
allow of the escape of the carbonised air from below. In 
any case the vacant spaces of the two sets of curtains, 
i.e. the ten and the eleven, were not directly above one 
another. That of the lower set was 18 feet from the west 
side of the tent, and that of the upper set 21-f feet from 
the same. In this connection it will be remembered that 
there were two outer coverings to the tent of goat's hair, 
one of red goat-skins and another of porpoise hides. 
These were, probably, put on every evening at the 
closing of the Tabernacle gates, and also at every 
appearance of bad weather during the day. The incon- 
gruity of a narrow opening between the fifth and sixth, 
outer curtain 2 is, in this way, met and disposed of. 

3. We have seen that the tent was formed of two sets 



1 These were the ' taches ' of the Authorized Version and the ' clasps ' of 
the Revised Version. 

2 The requirements of the space to be covered in, as in the case of the 
ten curtains, demand that this opening should be of the width of one palm, 
or a quarter of a cubit. The use of fifty loops in each of the two sets of 
curtains was intended to secure a ventilation-space, in each, of even width 
throughout. It would, without these frequent regulators, have had an irregular 
appearance and been wider in some parts than in others. "When this object 
had been gained, each of the eleven curtains would be kept in its proper place 
by the straining of the tent ropes. 



208 THE TABERNACLE. 

of woven curtains, one containing five and the other six. 
We have now to see how these eleven curtains were 
extended horizontally, and kept in their places. This 
was done by the familiar method of having tent-pegs — 
a method which owes its early origin and late survival 
to the fact of its ease and simplicity. 

In one passage (Exodus xxxv. 18) we have a reference 
to ' the pins of the Tabernacle, .... and their 
cords/ and in another (xxxviii. 29-31) we learn that 
these 'pins,' as well as those that supported the pillars 
of the court round about, were made of brass. 

As it was a matter of the utmost importance that 
these curtains should be hung over the ridge - pole at 
an angle of 90° — neither more nor less — it may satisfy 
some querist to know of a simple method by which this 
could have been done. The site of the future Tabernacle 
having been selected and levelled, it was but necessary 
to lay these eleven curtains outspread upon the surface 
of the ground. By marking their north and south lines 
when so extended, and by driving the tent-pegs deeply 
into the ground at the lines marked, the tent itself 
would have a right angle at its apex, the height of 
the ridge being 18 feet above the ground, and the tent- 
pegs being 36 feet apart. The east and west lines, 
when similarly marked, would be 524- feet apart, and 
would give the other limits of the area requiring to 
be paved. 

4. The use of the expression already referred to, ' all 
the pins of the court round about/ leaves no option but 



TENT BOPES AND PEGS. 209 

to think that each of the sixty 1\ feet pillars of the court 1 
had its own stay of brass pins and cords, to keep it in 
position as it stood in its brass socket. There could be 
here no question of a supporting pavement, so that these 
sockets were probably buried in the ground. Fergusson 
has represented these standards as supported in this way. 

5. While the length of each of the eleven curtains 
was 30 cubits (= 36 feet), we are not at liberty to suppose 
that the whole of this length was extended horizontally 
in order to form the tent. It was not so, and this 
introduces us to one of the most fruitful facts about 
the Tabernacle in its relation to the Temples which took, 
its place. 

From Exodus xxvi. 13 we learn that the cords which 
attached the curtains to the tent-pegs were placed in 
eyelet-holes at the distance of a single cubit from the ends 
of the curtains. A relationship of 28 cubits was thus 
established with the 28 cubits of which the ten curtains 
consisted, the fact of the cubits in each of these cases 
being of different lengths notwithstanding. 

There was thus produced the mathematical result that 
the line at which the one-cubit flap of the eleven curtains 

1 It is not certain what was the height of the hangings of the court. It 
was either five medium or five large cubits (Exodus xxvii. 18 and xxxviii. 18). 
In favour of the former is the fact that the medium cubit was that usually 
employed in weaving stuffs. In favour of the latter, the fact that in each 
case above referred to the ' five cubits ' is associated with other measures 
which were undoubtedly those of large cubits. The height of the Ramet 
enclosure wall is six medium cubits, and is in favour of the greater height of 
the Tabernacle hangings, as is the fact that they were woven in lengths of 
five large cubits. 



210 THE TABERNACLE. 

hung down at the eyelet-holes, marked one-half of the 
ground-space between the Tabernacle boards and the rows 
of tent-pegs. In other words, there were on either side 
of the Tabernacle five cubits (= 6 feet) covered in and 
overshadowed by the tent, and five cubits of space over 
which the tent cords were strained, and which was open 
to the sky. In this latter space it is probable that drains 
to carry off the surface-water were arranged, but whether 
it was paved or not there is no evidence to show. 1 

6- It is to the other covered -in space, which lay 
without the Tabernacle and within the tent, that the 
reader's attention is now directed. We have here 
a narrow strip of tent- shadow, on either side of the 
Tabernacle. The gilded boards of the Tabernacle, over- 
hung in part by the ends of the curtains of the sanctuary, 
form one of its sides on either hand. Below are the 
paving-stones supporting the silver sockets of the boards. 
Above is the extension of the goats'-hair curtains, and 
towards the horizon, on either side, is the fringe of the 
outer curtains hanging down to the extent of 1J feet. 
These two spaces we now know to have been each of the 
length of 36 feet and of the width of six feet, less the 
palm of which the thickness of the boards consisted. 



1 The architectural requirements of the case, however, demand that the 
same general level of flooring should be observed in the whole area. If this 
were not done the apex-angle of the tent would not be a right angle. The 
whole area of 36 x 52f feet covered by the curtains when used as a measuring- 
carpet, was probably laid with paving-stones. This need not have prevented 
there being a depression on either side of the tent, to carry off the surface- 
drainage. 



DORMITORIES OF THE TENT. 211 

Each side would thus give six little areas of six feet 
square — twelve in all. In these, without doubt, the 
priests on duty in the Tabernacle regularly slept, and they 
formed the precedent for the priests' chambers, which 
were so marked a feature of the later Temples, and which 
ultimately gave rise to the anchorites' cell and the monastic 
system of the Middle Ages. 

The recognition of this use of a portion of the Tabernacle 
will serve to illustrate many passages of Scripture. Of 
these one of the earliest is the account of the death of 
Aaron's elder sons. These had spent seven days and 
nights at the door of the tent of meeting, as a part of 
their ceremonial induction to the High-priesthood. On 
their death the two younger sons were instructed to repass 
the same period of time in meditation, prayer, and sacrifice ; 
and not to go out from the door of the tent of meeting 
under penalty of death. It seems natural to suppose that 
their hours of sleep were spent in those recesses of the tent 
which flanked the Tabernacle, and which may have been, 
from its earliest use, the dormitories of the priests who 
guarded the sacred shrine (Lev. viii. 35-36 ; x. 7). 

An acceptance of this theory is alone wanting to make 
the touching history of the child Samuel's call to the 
ministry intelligible and doubly impressive. Here, in 
one of these little stone-floored cubicles, the aged Eli lay, 
doubtless screened off from all around by mats or rugs 
hung around as walls. In another compartment, possibly 
on the other side of the tent, little Samuel slept, and was 
awakened by the Yoice, thrice repeated. ' For Samuel 
was laid down to sleep in the Temple of the Lord, where 



212 THE TABERNACLE. 

the ark of God was* (1 Samuel iii. 3). The only 
alternative to the plan here suggested as haviug been 
adopted, is to suppose that both Eli and Samuel slept 
within one of the holy chambers which, formed the 
Tabernacle proper. To anyone whose mind and memory 
are imbued with the facts and traditions of early Mosaism, 
such a contingency as this will be impossible of acceptance. 

7. Thus far we have found that the means taken to 
secure the stability of the court of the Tabernacle and 
of the tent of the Tabernacle, were such as to increase 
their usefulness as well as to ensure their continuance. 

We now come to the method by which the boards of 
the Tabernacle themselves were preserved in their align- 
ment, and kept in an upright and symmetrical position. 
It will be plain, even to those who have no knowledge of 
the building art, that rows of 12 feet planks stood upon 
end, each of the width of 21*6 inches, would require more 
support than two tenons could give them, to keep them in 
a perfectly perpendicular line of 36 feet from end to end. 

Let it be here noted that specific instructions were 
given to Moses that the tenons were not to be parts of the 
boards themselves. They were to be 'morticed' (margin, 
Exodus xxvi. 17) into the boards, separately. This would 
allow of harder wood being used for this purpose than 
that of the acacia or shittim, and by this means the 
holding power of the tenons would be greatly increased. 
But even this provision was not sufficient. Fifteen bars 
of acacia-wood were ordered to be made, five for each of 
the three sides of the Tabernacle. These bars were run 



GILDING OF THE TABERNACLE. 213 

through rings of gold, by which we are to understand 
that they were gilt, and had an appearance of gold. The 
evidence for which is this : — Of the 48 boards, 24 had two 
rings in each and 24 three rings in each, giving a total 
of 120 rings. Each of these must have contained several 
ounces of metal, if indeed they were not cut out of wood, 
which is possible. Yet we do not find any appropriation 
of gold for the purpose of making these 120 rings. The 
inference is that, like the boards into which they were 
fixed, and like the bars which they were to contain, they 
were * overlaid with gold ' l (Exodus xxvi. 32). 

There can be little difference of opinion as to the way 
in which the five bars on each side were placed with 
regard to one another. Four bars, of 18 feet each, being 
run into their rings, two above and two below, the fifth 
was used between the upper and lower sets to strengthen 
the ' break ' of joint. This would give the required 
stability to the whole of each side. The five bars for 
the west side of the Tabernacle would be shorter, and 
were probably 6 feet in length. It is possible here to 
gain a ray of light on the obscurity in which the two 
corner-boards stand in Exodus xxvi. 24 and xxxvi. 29. 
The mention of the * one ring ' in each of these passages 
lends itself to the explanation that, the board being 
entire, each of its two sides should have a ring for each 
of the two end-bars that supported that side. This was all 
that was necessary to the security of the whole (cf. p. 195). 

1 The gilding would be done by the usual Egyptian method of sticking 
rather thick gold -foil firmly on to the wooden basis. Plates of gold beaten 
thin would form the foiL, and gum-arabic, which is abundant in the desert, 
the medium. 



PAET IV. 

THE TRIPLE CUBIT IN BABYLONIA 
AND IN PALESTINE. 



217 



THE TRIPLE CUBIT IN BABYLONIA 
AND IN PALESTINE. 

ON the behalf of Part II. of this book, it is claimed 
that it has established the fact of there having 
been three ells or cubits of the lengths given. With the 
application of these measures to Babylonian antiquities 
we do not now, except incidentally, concern ourselves. 
This is a work which is necessarily left to others to 
accomplish. 

On the behalf of Part III., in which the triple cubit 
is applied to the specification of a single structure in 
the Arabian desert, it is hoped that several points will 
already have made themselves clear. If the long-lost 
key of an architectural enigma has been forged in our 
earlier pages, it has been practically applied to the 
elucidation of some portions of the world's earliest 
literature, with the result that we have recovered, not 
only the actual size of the Tabernacle in the wilderness 
(and this surely is much !), but also that of its true 
accessories and adjuncts. 

(A) Amongst these additions to our knowledge may be 
named the restoration of the north gate in the court of 
the Tabernacle. It is true that this result does not arise 
immediately out of the application of any specific measure 



218 THE TABERNACLE. 

to the case. But it has been arrived at by the more 
certain and thorough examination of the documentary 
evidence before us, which has been made possible owing 
to the possession of such a measure. 

(B) Akin to this discovery is that of the place at the 
east gate for the * stranger that is within thy gates/ l 
it now appearing that this injunction of the fourth 
Commandment applied solely to those aliens of Israel 
who joined in the worship of the true God, without the 
court, at the eastern space set apart for their use. 

(C) The placing of the Altar of Sacrifice on the line of 
the Soreg is entitled to mention in this connection, as it 
not only allows us to differentiate between the altar and 
the slope by which it was approached, but enables us to 
locate the laver as filling the space between the platform- 
of-the-altar and the porch-of-the-tent. 

(D) In the tent of the Tabernacle we have two main 
additions to our knowledge. One of these, with the aid 
of Josephus, enables us to see that ' the door of the tent of 
meeting ' was not a mere threshold or entrance- way, but 
a clearly defined space, making the sin of Eli's sons possible 
(1 Samuel ii. 22), and accounting for the restriction given 
to Eleazar and Ithamar not to trespass beyond it. 

In the elegant addition of a porch to the ordinary 



1 The presence of strangers, both in courts of law and at the worship of 
Jehovah, was recognised in Exodus xx. 10 and xxiii. 9, and their conversion to 
the faith of Israel is contemplated in 1 Kings viii. 41-43, and Isaiah hi. 3-7. 
They were to he allowed to make offerings by fire to Jehovah, which 
comprised burnt sacrifices, votive offerings, and free - will offerings. A 
stringent rule forbad any distinction being made between these offerings 
and those of Hebrews (Numbers xv. 14-16). 



NEW LIGHT ON THE TABERNACLE. 219 

Bedaween tent we have, further, the solution of the 
otherwise insoluble problem of the eleven curtains, 
a problem so old that the Talmud, in the Gemara on 
the treatise Shabat, thus states it : — ' The eleven curtains 
were 44 cubits broad. Take away 30 for the roof. 
Fourteen remain. Take away 2 for the doubling. 
There remain 12, which trailed upon the ground behind, 
as a lady who went into the market and the ends of 
her dress followed her/ 

(E) Even more important than this recovery of the 
porch in its bearing upon the future — Solomon's Porch 
being its crown of evolution — is that of the twelve side- 
chambers, under the eaves of the tent. These were the 
architectural germs out of which grew the thirty priestly 
cells in the Temple of Solomon, the sixty in the Temple 
planned by Ezekiel (twenty of which were Levitical 
chambers), and the thirty-eight in the Temple of Herod. 

Nothing more clearly shows the intense conservatism 
of the later Jewish hierarchy and people in all things 
that concerned their national faith than the way in 
which these two cardinal points, i.e. the porch and the 
dormitories of their sacred buildings, were developed 
from the model of the Tabernacle, and were not super- 
added to it, as creations for use and ornament. 

2. These five principal discoveries will show how great 
and manifold are the results which accrue from the 
transfer to Mosaic architecture of the linear measures of 
Babylonia. Taken from an age far anterior to that of 
Abraham, it is necessary to ask ourselves if the adoption 



220 THE TABERNACLE. 

and preservation of these measures was, in every case, 
complete and entire, and if no modifications were made 
in them during the existence of the theocracy ? 

(a) There is one measure, i.e. the fundamental one, 
which, while it held its place in the Tabernacle and the 
Temples unaltered in length, was yet subjected to a 
different division, in its largest fraction, by the Jews. 

We have seen, from the second column of the Senkereh 
tablet, that there were originally three digits or fingers in 
every 'palm.' It was a natural and almost inevitable 
result that in their new home beside the Mediterranean 
the Hebrews should collate the fingers and the palm 
(Ezekiel xl. 43), and decide that four fingers were the 
equivalent of the palm-breadth. We find, accordingly, 
that the hand-breadth was repeatedly used, as in the 
1 border ' given to the table of shew-bread in the Taber- 
nacle (Exodus xxv. 25), and in the thickness given to 
the casting of the brazen sea in Solomon's Temple 
(1 Kings vii. 26). This likewise was, in all probability — 
a probability amounting to certainty in my own mind, — 
the thickness of the castings made for the pillars Jachin 
and Boaz, which Jeremiah tells us (lii 21) were hollow 
and had a thickness of four fingers. Evidence has already 
been given that Josephus reckoned four fingers as a palm. 

(b) In the description of the colossal sea or laver in 
the Temple of Solomon, we are told in 1 Kings vii. 24, 
margin, that it was ornamented with open flower-buds 
placed ' ten in a cubit/ 

As the cubit for brass- work was the one ordinarily in 
use, of 14*4 inches, we here obtain spaces, in which the 



THE SMALL CUBIT AS A SPAN. 221 

flowers were placed, of 1*44 inches. This was a natural 
but altogether unique measure, as the digit of Babylonia 
was 1*2 inches, and that of Palestine *90 inch. This 
measure does not appear elsewhere, so far as is known. 

The 10'8 inch Measure. 

3. It will be within the reader's cognisance that no 
name is given to either of the three central measures in 
the Senkereh tablet or on the scale of Gudea. They 
have been called ' ells ' as a matter of convenience, 
but this name has no warrant in either of the documents 
before us. 

The smallest of these three measures has, however, 
been referred to as a 'span/ This name is taken from 
a cuneiform tablet in which it is stated that the walls of 
Khorsabad were 24,740 ' spans ' in length. Khorsabad 
was a royal suburb of Nineveh, and was built by 
Sargon the Second, who reigned over Assyria from 
722 to 705 b.c. 1 

The suburb was enclosed by its own walls, which 
formed a parallelogram of more than a mile, and are 
still standing ! The inscription of the tablet reads : 
* Three ners-and-a-third, one stadium, one fathom-and- 
a-half, two spans : this is the dimension of the wall/ 
This capital inscription for the restoration of Assyrian 
measures has been thus wrought out by Oppert : — 

1 He is mentioned in Isaiah xx. 1, and was the father of Sennacherib, who 
succeeded him. A popular account, with illustrations, of Sargon's palace at 
Khorsabad is given in the ' Assyria ' volume of The Story op the Nations, 
pp. 278-291 



222 THE TABEKNACLE. 

31 ner, of 7,200 spans each = 24,000 

1 stade, or tenth of ner = 720 
1 1J fathoms of 12 spans, each 

fathom being -^ of stade = 18 

2 spans . . . . . . . . 2 



Total circuit of walls . . 24,740 spans. 

The walls themselves have been repeatedly measured, 
with the result that they are known to contain 7,422 
yards of masonry ; there being exactly 6,000 spans or 
1,800 yards in each of the shorter sides, and rather more 
in the longer ones. If, therefore, we divide the total 
length of the wall by the number of units recorded, 
i.e. 22,266 feet by 24,740, we arrive at the result that 
each 'span* was 10*8 inches in length. 

(a) It is unfortunate that the word ' span ' has associations 
of physical measurement in our language which have led 
to a very general idea that a span of 9 inches was the half 
of a cubit of 18 inches. This idea has no foundation in 
Eastern metrology. Where the half of a cubit is meant, 
it is so stated, as in eight passages in Exodus and two in 
Ezekiel. These ten instances should lead us to seek for 
another meaning to the designation than that it was the 
half of any cubit-length. It was, in fact, nothing less 



1 This line is a striking commentary on, and confirmation of, the result 
sub-column (No. 6) of the second column of the Senkereh tablet, which 
shows a total of twelve small ells of the same length as the ' spans ' here 
referred to. It was, therefore, a table of the fractions of a small fathom, as 
well as of the fractions of a small ell. 



TESTIMONY OF THE TALMUD. 223 

than another way of denning the short cubit. We have 
in the 43rd chapter of Ezekiel's prophecy the two 
measures placed in juxtaposition. In verse 13 the 
prophet states the width of the masonry which carried 
the grating of the altar as l a span' (= ^ °f a foot). In 
the next sentence but two he gives the width of the altar- 
drain as being half-a-cubit in width (i.e. ordinary), which 
is equivalent to -f- of a foot, this being the exact space to 
spare when all the other measurements of the court and of 
the altar have been accounted for. This should be decisive 
as to the distinction between the span and the half of any 
one of the three cubits derived from Babylon. 

(b) It has already been shown (p. 202) that a cubit of 
three-fourths the length of another is the only possible 
explanation of the ten curtains of the Tabernacle being 
fitted into their places, the reason being that they alone, 
the veil excepted, were decorated with figures worked in 
gold thread. It follows that the Golden Table * and the 
Ark of the Covenant were designed by the same measure. 



1 The Jerusalem Talmud states (Menakhoth 97#) that there were three 
amehs or cubits — 

(1) The smallest, of 5 hand -breadths, measured the vessels of the Temple. 

(2) The medium, of 6 hand-breadths, measured the buildings, and consisted 

of two spans. 

(3) (The length of the third is not given.) 

If to these hand-breadths we give a width of 3*6 inches, the small cubit 
will have 18 inches and the medium 21-6 inches, the half of which was 
a span. These details were those of the Egyptian cubits, and were thus, 
when written, modern glosses on foundations of historical truth. We may be 
grateful for the general support they give to these pages, as to the difference 
of a palm between one cubit and another, and of the uses to which two of 
them were put. 



224 THE TABERNACLE. 

The latter was an oblong box of 2 J cubits (= 27 inches) 
in length, its height and breadth being each 1| cubits 
(= 16 2 inches). These measures are given by Joseph us 
as being respectively five and three ' spans.' Here is the 
root of much misapprehension, caused probably by the 
Greek scribes employed by Joseph us to translate his work 
being familiar with the Egyptian cubit of 21*6 inches, 1 
of which the span was exactly one-half. Instead of 
dividing these figures, or giving them in cubits, as is 
done with regard to the Golden Altar of Incense, this 
error, arising from mental indolence or confusion, has 
come down to us, with widely misleading effects. 

(c) Elsewhere the language of Josephus is irreproach- 
able, as in the case of the height of Goliath. Samuel 
(1 : xvii, 4) tells us that his height was ' six cubits and 
a span/ These being commensurated thus : — 

6 cubits, each 14*4 inches . . = 86*4 inches. 

1 span . . .. . . . . = 10 8 „ 

give us a total of . . . . 97*2 „ 



In the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, 
which dates from the close of the third century B.C., and 
in the Antiquities of Josephus, belonging to the close of 
the first century a.d., Goliath's height is given at ' 4 cubits 



1 Edersheim has remarked that the representation of the Shew-bread Tahle 
on the Arch of Titus is less in size than we should expect from its description. 
His cubit was one of 18 inches. It is to be hoped that some future visitor 
to Rome will test its dimensions by a cubit of 10-8 inches, and make public 
the result. 



THE STATURE OF GOLIATH. 225 

and a span.' There is, however, no real discrepancy 
here with oar English Bibles, when once the metrology 
of the subject is understood in its geographical and 
chronological relations. The 'cubit,' as understood by 
the Greeks (the word itself being the ammah of the 
Hebrews, and the ammatu of the Assyrians), was that 
of the Egyptians, with whom they had more intimate 
relations than with the Jews. The Egyptian cubit being 
one of 21 '6 inches, the height of Goliath was best 
expressed, for Greek readers, in its length. Not to have 
done so would have been to mislead, and to excite ridicule 
and doubt. Hence we have this commensuration : — 

4 cubits, each 21*6 inches . . = 86 - 4 inches. 

1 span, or half-cubit . . ..=108 „ 

Total as before . . . . = 97*2 „ * 

(d) The short measure before us is thus seen to have 
several Scripture names, being called ' cubit ' in the 
description of the golden furniture of the Tabernacle, 
' span ' in the size of the High-priest's breastplate and 
in the height of Goliath. It has also a third designation 
in the Book of Judges (iii. 16), where Ehud is said to 
have made a dagger of a cubit or span in length. The 
word gomed occurs here only in the Hebrew scriptures, 
and is taken to mean a short cubit, as in the Greek 
translation of the LXX. the translation gives ' span or 

1 The height of Goliath was thus 8-^ 6 English feet, which is somewhat 
less than that of the Chinese giant, Chwang, lately exhibited in Europe, 
whose height was 8 ft. 6 ins. 



226 THE TABERNACLE. 

half- cubit/ in accordance with what is said above. The 
fact that he made it of this length shows that he 
consecrated it to what he deemed to be the highest 
patriotic purpose, as this was the most sacred cubit of 
the Jews, being that of the vessels of the sanctuary. 

The 14*4 inch Measure. 

4. This was the common measure, by which everything 
not excepted in the goldsmith's and surveyor's depart- 
ments was measured. 

We have seen that it applies to the height of Goliath. 
It was that * cubit of a man ' by which we are to read the 
size of the sarcophagus of Og, king of Bashan. Being 
four cubits in width, it was 4| feet, and being nine cubits 
in length, it was 10-J feet. These measures are large, but 
are not marvellous, and they are not given as those of his 
physical proportions. 

This was emphatically the builders' cubit, and after 
having gone through every item of every building 
specification in the Bible, I can state that it requires no 
modification, nor, if a single clerical error in Ezekiel be 
excepted, does it fail to yield good and true results in 
every case. 

(a) Some walls of Babylon, described by Herodotus 
(i. 178), were possibly built by this measure. We know, 
from late German researches, not yet concluded, that the 
walls in question were not those of the city, but of the 
citadel. He does not say more than that ' A wall has 
been raised to the height of two hundred cubits, with 



THE CUBITS OF HERODOTUS. 227 

a width of fifty. Now the royal cubit is longer than 
the average cubit by three fingers/ * 

If a cubit of an English foot-and-a-fifth be understood, 
the measures will be 240 feet and 60 feet. If the cubit 
of a foot-and-a-half be used, they will be 300 feet and 
75 feet. Neither of these results was impossible of 
attainment for an inner fortress, but the smaller is the 
likelier. What alone at present is certain is that the 
walls of the citadel were not built with the span of 
Khorsabad, and that these through measures were not 
those of the famous walls of the city of Babylon, but of 
its central citadel. 

The 18 inch Measure. 

5. Certain portions of Ezekiel's specification are written 
in large cubits, the fact being in every case notified. In 
addition to the ground -areas of the courts of the Temple 
being uniformly given in 18 inch cubits, the measure- 
ments of the Great Altar of Sacrifice are so given. 
Likewise those of the outer wall, its steps, and the east 
entrance-gate and its lodges. With these exceptions the 
large cubit, in his pages, is invariably one of open spaces. 
This fact is one which is capable of demonstration, but 
the demonstration is involved with that of other lengths 
referred to in these pages, and with some not mentioned, 
but which were used in the building of the Herodian 

1 This is independent testimony as to the primary division of the palm into 
three fractions, as shown in Part II. of this volume (pp. 124, 148). It may 
be an aid to the memory to know that each of these fractions or ' fingers ' was 
one-tenth of an English foot in length. 



228 



THE TABERNACLE. 



Temple. The proof is one that is too long for these pages, 
but if opportunity offers it will be made public, so that all 
may judge of the case as a whole, as bearing upon the use 
of this family of measures in the Holy Land. 

{a) Turning to Babylon, from which they were derived, 
we find an incontrovertible embodiment of the large cubit 
in the Great Tower of Nebo, at Borsippa, near the ruins 
of Babylon. This ancient temple is now known as the 




Keconstruction Plan of the Birs-Nimroud. 
Scale, 50 feet to half an inch. 1 cuhit = 1^ feet. 

mound of Birs-Nimroud, and has been more carefully 
examined than any other Babylonian ruin. Sir Henry 
Rawlinson's account of it is contained in the eighteenth 
volume of the Royal Asiatic Society's Journal [old style). 
From this it appears that the partially-erected tower had 
stood for 500 years, when Nebuchadnezzar, about 600 B.C., 
determined on its completion. 

It is possible to deduce from the data arrived at, all its 
proportions as they were originally designed. These are 



THE BIRS-JSriMBOUD. 



229 



most briefly stated in a series of tables of distances — all 
the cubits used being of the length of 18 inches — 
accompanied by a drawing of the tower, as it must have 
appeared in outline when completed. 
The tables are as follows : — 



1. Measures of Stages and Terraces. 

1. Height of basement 

2. Width of rear terraces 

3. Width of basement side-terraces 

4. Height of upper stages 

5. Width of upper side-terraces . . 

6. Height of lower stages. . 

7. Width of front terraces . . 



6 cubits = 9 fe 


8 , 


, =12 , 


9 , 


, =13* , 


10 , 


, =15 , 


14 , 


, =21 , 


18 , 


, =27 , 


20 , 


, =30 , 



2. Squares of Brickwork — Sizes. 

1. Foundation basement, a square of 200 cubits =300 feet. 

2. First, or lowest, stage 

3. Second stage 

4. Third stage 

5. Fourth stage 

6. Fifth stage. . 

7. Sixth stage. . 

8. Seventh stage 



182 


yi 


= 273 


154 


»> 


= 231 


126 


ft 


= 189 


98 


t> 


= 147 


70 


a 


= 105 


42 


)> 


= 63 


14 


>> 


= 21 



It is thus seen that not only were all the distances 
governed by a common denominator of 18 inches, but 
that the reduction in size was accomplished by making 
each stage 28 cubits less in the square than the one 



230 THE TABERNACLE. 

immediately below it, the foundation basement being 
18 cubits larger than the stage immediately above it. 
The top of the tower was a plain surface of 21 feet 
each way. 




Geometric Principle of the Tabernacle Tent. 

{The shaded portion represents the proportions of the Tent oj 

the Tabernacle.) 1 

1 The diameter of this circle is 3*6 inches, and is drawn so as to act as 
a standard of measure for the breadth of the human palm, which is believed 
to be the fundamental of all length-measures. Each reader may test its 
correctness, as an average, by placing his own hand over it. 



INFLUENCE OF BABYLON IN ASIA. 231 

(b) Measures apart, the point at which this ancient 
structure touches the architecture of the Jews lies in this 
fact : — The total height of the Birs is estimated to have 
been 100 cubits, or 150 feet; the total width to have been 
200 cubits, or 300 feet. It is in exactly these proportions 
that the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was erected, its 
height being 15 cubits and its width being 30 cubits. 

The predominance of the Babylonia cycle of 60 and 
its fractions, in the constituents of the Tabernacle, is too 
apparent to have escaped the reader's notice. The one 
exception is the length of ' an hundred cubits ' given to 
the court. It is now, however, apparent that the court 
consisted of two squares of fifty cubits each, so that this 
exception to the rule of sixties is more apparent than real. 
By the form of the specification, attention is called to the 
fact that all parts of the court had an equal sanctity. 

Not less significant than these coincidences is the fact 
that the twelve uprights of the Tabernacle, i.e. its pillars, 
were arranged in groups of three, four, and five ; thus 
recalling to mind the allocation of palms in cubits of 
three, four, and five 1 hand-breadths. The discovery of this 
last-mentioned fact has led to the conclusions of these 
pages. Other, and still more important ones, are to 
follow in subsequent volumes from the same premises. 2 

1 These figures being multiplied together give the cycle of 60. The 
far-reaching influence of Babylonian supremacy in Asia is seen in the fact 
that the Chinese and the Hindoos of to-day reckon the passage of their years 
in periods of 60, and not in hundreds. The native Chinese also have three 
yard measures in common use. 

3 Cf. footnote to p. 168. 



232 



INDEX. 



Aaron, death of,l 1,1 3, 14. 

genealogy of, 102. 

death of his elder 
sons, 211. 
Aaronites, 89. 
Abiathar, 84, 99. 
Abinadab, 66. 
Abishag, 98. 
Adasa, 55. 

Adonijah, request of, 98. 
Aher, 91. 
Ahijah, 33, 81. 
Ahhnelech, 52, 103, 199. 
Ahitub, 30, 33, 34. 
Ai, 54. 

Aijalon, 92, 96. 
Ain Kadis, 6. 
Ain Karim, 32. 
Ain Mdhil, 95. 
Ain Siirah, 49. 
Aith, 54. 

Altar of burnt- offering , 74 . 
Altar of sacrifice, the. 178. 

position of, 181. 
Amariah, 33. 
Amorites, battle with, 9. 
Andta, 54, 55. 
Anathoth, 55. 
Anem, 94, 96. 
Aner, 92, 96. 
Ani,t, 94. 

Aphek, battle at, 27. 
Apostacy of Israel, 27. 
Arad, 9. 

destruction of, 15. 

king of, hostility of, 
15. 
Ariel, 181. 
Arimathffia, 51. 
Aristobulus, 103. 



Arithmetic, ancient system 

of, 125. 
Ark, position of, 21. 

size of, 224. 

at Ebenezer, 28. 

atKirjath-Jearim,33. 

at Ophel, 77. 

removed to Jerusalem, 
65, 7'2. 

moved to Moriah, 101. 
Anion, the, 88. 
Asaph, Psalm of, 



sonsof,68;dutyof,70. 
Ashtaroth, 93. 
Assyrians, approach of, to 

Jerusalem, 54. 
Atonement-money, the, 7 3 . 
Azariah V., 34. 

Baalath-beer, 37. 
Babylonians, notation of, 

119, 230. 
Badiet et-Tih, 6. 
Bamoth, 17. 
Barclay, on tent curtains, 

191. 
Be-eshterah, 93. 
Beer, 17. 
Beer-lahai-roi, 9. 
Beeroth, 59. 
Beeroth-bene-Jaakan, 9. 
Bene-Jaakan, 8, 9. 
Benjamin, cities of, 59. 
Benjamites, migration of, 

63. 
Bered, 9. 
Beth-Car, 32. 
Beth-Shemesh, 27. 
Bethhoron, 92. 



Bethlehem, 49. 
Bezalel, 30. 
Bezer, 88. 
Bileam, 96. 
Bir-el-Ozeiz, 62. 
Birs-Nimroud, 228 sq. 
Boards of Tabernacle, 4, 

194 sq. 
Bowls of Tabernacle, 5. 
Bozrah, 89. 

Brasen altar, dedication 
of, 5. 

construction of, 30. 

moveable, 74. 

description of, 78 sq. 

approach to, 180. 

bosom of, 181. 

position of, 181. 

platform of, 182. 
Brasen sea, the, 220. 
BreechesBible.on curtains, 

204. 
Buttons (taches), 206. 

Caleb, 23. 

Canaanites, destruction of, 

16. 
Causeway, the, 77. 
Census of the people, 72. 
Chambers of thepriests, 80. 
of the Temple, 210, 
219. 
Chenaniah, 68. 87. 
Cherubs, the, 200. 
Christ,therockatypeof,13. 
Cities, number of, 97. 
Cities of refuge, the, 88. 
City of David, 64. 
Clasps, 206. 
Cloud, the guiding, 6. 



INDEX. 



233 



Colours of the curtains, 

187, 188. 
Cords, the, 209. 
Courses of priests and 

Levites, 84. 
Court of Tabernacle, 167. 
Courts of justice in Israel, 

35, 41. 
Cubits, three in number, 

161. 
Curtains, the, 175, 185, 

187, 188, 202, 208. 
Cuts of Rule of Gudea, 

147 sq. 

Dan, removal of, 91. 

towns of, 91. 
David, 55 sq. 

genealogy of, 57. 
elected king, 64. 
his house, 64. 
at Oman's threshing- 
floor, 73. 
hands pattern of the 
Temple to Solomon, 
83. 
his revision of Church 
property, 97. 
Dedication, week of, 5. 
Defilement of High-priest, 

103. 
Deir Abdn, 33. 
Deir Eban, 33. 
Deir el-Baiva, 32. 
Digit, the, 148, 220. 
Dimnah, 95. 
Door of the tent, 173,188. 

screen of, 189. 
Doorkeepers, courses of, 

76, 86. 
Drawings of the plans for 
the Temple, 78. 

East, the, approach from, 

180. 
East Gate, the, 175. 
Ebenezer, 27, 32. 
Edersheim, on Temple 

music, 88 ; on shew- 

bread table, 224. 
Edom, message to, 16. 
conduct of, 17. 



Egyptian cubit, 225. 
Ehud, dagger of, 225. 
Eleazar, duty of, 4. 
Eleph, 58. 
El-Jeib, 19. 
El-Jib, 55, 59, 60. 
Eli, 27; death of, 178. 
Ell, the, 121, 135. 
ElUr, 92. 
Elteke, 92. 
Embroidery, 200. 
En-gannim, 94, 96. 
En-Mishpat, 9. 
Enclosure of the Taber- 
nacle, the, 169. 
Ephod, the, 199. 
Ephraim, conduct of, 23. 

towns of, 91. 
Er Earn, 55. 

Er-R&meh, 38, 42 sq., 94. 
Erech, 118. 
Es Sanamein, 89. 
Eshcol, 48. 
Et Tell, 5i. 

Ezekiel'sspecification,227. 
Ezion-Geber, 10. 

Father, of a city, mean- 
ing of, 57. 

Fence, see Soreg. 

Fergusson, Mr. J., on 
* gate,' 177 ; on cur- 
tains, 187. 

Finger, the, 148, 220. 

Floor of the Tabernacle, 
193. 

Forty days in the Mount, 
the, 184. 

Forty years' wanderings, 
the, 7 sq. 

Fractions of Senkereh 
tablet, 123. 
table of, 154. 

Gallim, 55. 

Gate, meaning of, 177. 

Gath-rimmon, 92, 96. 

Geba, 54, 63. 

Gebim, 55. 

Genealogies of chiefs of 

choirs, 72. 
Gershonites, duty of, 4. 



Gershonites, turns of, 70. 

towns of, 93. 
Gibbethon, 92, 93. 
Gibeah, 60. 
Gibeah-of-God, 50. 
Gibeah of Saul, 55. 
Gibeon, 55, 61. 

Tabernacle at, 56. 

supercession of, 90. 

closing services at, 
100. 
Gibeonites, war against, 59. 
Gilding, mode of, 213. 
Gilgal, 22 sq. 

abandoned, 52. 
Gittaim, 67. 
Gold, value of, 73. 
Goliath, height of, 225. 
Great reed, the, 137. 
Greek cubit, the, 225. 
Grove, G., quoted, 22. 
Guards of the sanctuary, 
76 ; of the Temple, 82. 
Gudea, king, statue of, 

144 sq. 
Gudea, scale of, restoration 

of, 140 sq. 
Guest-chambers, 47. 

Balasah, 9. 
Hammon, 93. 
Hammoth-dor, 93. 
Hand, the, use of, 125. 
Hangings, the, 169, 175. 
Eanina, 54. 
Barely 181. 
Haupt, Professor P., on 

Rule of Gudea, 145. 
Hazeroth, 7. 
Hebron, 38 sq. 

ruins near, 43. 
Helkath, 94, 96. 
Heman, sons of, 68. 

clan of, 71. 
Herodotus, on the cubit, 
148 ; on walls of 
Babylon, 226. 
High-priest, transference 
of office, 26. 

duty of, 99. 

genealogy of, 102. 

reserved, 103. 



234 



THE TABERNACLE. 



Hobab, 35. 

Holy of Holies, the, 79. 
Holy Place, the, 79. 
Hommel, on Senkereh 

tablet, 119; on Rule of 

Gudea, 145. 
Hophni, death of, 28. 
Hor, Mount, 8, 14. 
Hor-haggidgad, 8, 14. 
Hormah, 9, 16. 
Horse Gate, Jerusalem, 64. 
Hosah, 70. 

Hosea, on Gibeah, 61. 
Houses of the Temple, 79. 
Hukok, 94, 96. 
Hunin, pass of, 7. 
Hushim, 91. 

Iblbam, 92. 
Ichabod, 33. 
Ideographs of Senkereh 

tablet, 132 sq. 
Ime, 21. 
Incense, offering of, 99, 

100. 
Isaiah, on march of 

Assyrians, 54. 
Ish-bosheth, 55. 
Isshiah, 87. 
Ithamar, 5, 33. 
Itinerary of wanderings, 7. 
Iye-abarim, 21. 
Izim, 21. 

Jahzah, 94. 

Jarmuth, 93. 

Jeba, 54, 59. 

Jebel Moderah, 15, 18. 

Jebus, 50. 

Jeduthun, sons of, 68. 

Jehdeiah, 87. 

Jeiel, 57. 

Jenin, 94. 

Jerusalem Talmud on 

cubits, 223. 
Jethro, 35. 
Jibia, 59. 
Joab, death of, 99. 
Jokmeam, 92. 
Jokneam, 92, 95. 
Jordan, arrival at, 13. 
crossing of, 21. 



.us, on the Taber- 
nacle, 187 sq. 
Journeyings of Israel, the 
start, 5. 
Paran, 6. 
Zin, 6. 

Kadesh, 6 ; first stay 
at, 7; first departure 
from, 10 ; second 
arrival at, 11 ; last 
journey from, 13. 
itinerary, 7. 
first year of, 9. 
defeat by Amorites, 9. 
murmurings, the, 12. 
arrival at Jordan, 13. 
Mount Hor, 14. 
destruction of Arad, 

15. 
turn from Edom, 17. 
stages of, 18 sq. 
Judges, appointment of, 87. 
Jutta, 38. 



Kadesh- Barnea, Israel's 
stay at, 7. 

situation of, 8. 

names of, 9. 

second stay at, 11. 

s, first stay at, 7. 
95. 

Kartah, 95, 96. 
Kartan, 93. 
Kattath, 95. 
Kedesh, 93. 
Kedesh-in- Galilee, 89. 
Khan Haiyun, 54. 
Khorsabad, 221. 
Kibroth-hattaavah, 7. 
Kibzaim, 92, 96. 
King's House, Jerusalem, 

64. 
Kiriathaim, 93. 
Kirjath-Arba, 38. 
Kir] ath- Jearim, ark at, 33. 
Kish, 57. 
Kishion, 93. 
Kohath, children of, duty 

of, 3, 24, 71. 
Korahites, the, 82. 
Eusur Beshaer, 88. 



Lagash or Lagas, 141. 

Laish, 91. 

Laishah, 55. 

Larsam or Larsa, 118. 

Lebonah, 24. 

Length-measures, Baby- 
lonian, summary of, 155. 

Levites, courses of, 84. 
census of, 98. 

Levitical cities, 96. 

Lifta, 58. 

Line, the, 121. 

Loftus, Mr. W. K., dis- 
covery of, 118. 

Loops, the, 202. 

Lubban, 24. 

Maachah, 57. 

Madmenah, 55. 

Maisleh, 93. 

Makhrun, 54. 

Mamre, 48. 

Mashal, 93. 

Massah, murmuring at, 12. 

Matri, 58. 

Mattanah, 17. 

Matthew on Ramah, 50. 

Measure of 10-8 inches, 
221 sq. ; 14-4 inches, 
226 ; 18 inches, 227. 

Merarites, duties of, 4, 71. 
cities of, 94. 

Meribah-of-Kadesh, 9. 
murmuring at, 12. 

Meriboth- Kadesh, 9. 

Mesopotamia, length- 
measures of, 161. 

Michmash, 54. 

Migron, 54. 

Misapprehension, a, 13. 

Mishal, 93. 

Mizpah, assembly of Tribes 
at, 31,51. 

Moab, 13 ; conduct of, 17. 

Moriah, Mount, 64. 

Moserah, 14. 

Moseroth, 14. 

Moses, death of, 13. 

Mukayyar, 118. 

Mukhmas, 54. 

Murmuring of Israel, the, 
12. 



INDEX. 



235 



Music, guilds of, 68. 
Musicians, appointment 
of, 87. 

Nabal, 6. 

Nadab, 93. 

Nahalal, 95, 96. 

Nahaliel, 17. 

Nahshon, 49. 

Naioth, 48. 

Nebo, Tower of, 228 sq. 

Neby Samwil, 31. 

Negeb, the, 15. 

Ner, 57. 

Nob, Tabernacle at, 52 sq. 

massacre at, 61. 
North Gate, the, 170. 

Obed-Edom, 67. 

Oboth, 20. 

Og, king of Bashan, 

sarcophagus of, 226. 
Omri, 93. 
Ophel, 64. 
Oppert, Dr., on Assyrian 

span, 145 ; on Assyrian 

measures, 221. 
Oman's threshing - floor 

becomes the site of the 

Temple, 73. 

Pahath-Moab, 99. 
Palestine cubit, the, 161. 
Palm, the, 122, 134. 

table of fractions of, 
154. 
Paran, wilderness of, 6. 
Parbar, the, 77. 
Parenthesis in Deut. x., 15. 
Parthenon, the, plan of , 79. 
Pashhur, 34. 
Passages of the Hebrews, 

21. 
Pattern of the Temple, 78. 
Paul, quotation of, 13. 
Petra, 16. 
Petrie, Professor, on 

talents, 194. 
Phalti, 55. 
Fhanon, 19. 
Philistines, war with, 27 

sq., 31. 



Philo, 182. 

Phinehas, death of, 28. 
Pillars of Tabernacle, 169. 
Pinches, Dr., on the great 

reed, 137 ; onideographs, 

132. 
Pins, 208, 209. 
Plus, the sign of, 138. 
Porch, the, 79, 187. 
Porpoise hides, covering 

of, 191. 
Porters of the Temple, 

duty of, 86. 
Priests, clans of, 70. 

courses of, 84. 
Procession bringing the 

Ark to Jerusalem, 66, 68. 
Psalm of Asaph quoted, 29. 

of David, 69. 
Punon, 19. 

Rabbins on curtains, 204, 

219. 
Rachel, tomb of, 49. 
Ram-skins, the, 190. 
Ramah, 36 sq. 
Ramathaim-Zophim, 39. 
Ramet el-KhuUl, 42, 49. 
Ramoth, 93. 
Ramoth-in-Gilead, 89. 
Ras-el-Ain, 93. 
Rawlinson, Sir H., 119, 

138. 
Reimun, 89. 
Remeth, 94. 
Reuel, 35. 
Rimmon or Rimmono, 95, 

96. 
Robinson, Dr. E., on 

Ramet, near Hebron, 42. 
Rock, the, a type of 

Christ, 13. 
Rooms of the Temple, 79. 
Rule of Gudea, 144 sq. 
Rummdnek, 95. 

Sacrifices discontinued, 
10. 

slaughter of, 71. 

place of, 172. 
Salma, 49. 
Salt Sea, the, 14. 



Samuel, 27, 30. 

as judge, 35. 

builds an altar, 40. 

his interview with 
Saul, 46. 

call of, 211. 
Sargon II., 221. 
Sarzec, M. de, discovery 

of, 141 sq. 
Saul, journey of, 46. 

death of, 55. 

genealogy of, 57. 
Sayce, Professor, on hiero- 
glyphs, 137, 139. 
Screen of Tabernacle, 4, 

173. 
Sea-calves, skins of, 192. 
Sebaitd, 16. 
Secu, well of, 48. 
SeiMn : 25. 

platform at, 168. 
Senkereh, 118. 
Senkereh tablet, glossary 
of, 107 sq. 

reconstruction, 1 1 8sq. 

description of, 120. 

contents of, 120 sq. 

fractions of, 123. 

signs used in, 126 sq. 

reverse of, 151. 
Sennacherib, march of, 54. 
Sentence on Israelites, 11. 
Sentinels of the altar, 82. 
Sexagesimal system of 

Babylonia, 151. 
Shallum, 103. 
Shebuel, 81. 
Shechem, 39, 89. 
Shekel, value of, 73. 
Shelah, 81. 

migration of descend- 
ants of, 99. 
Shelomoth, 81. 
Shen, 33. 

Shiloh, site of the tent at, 
24 sq. 

history of, 25. 

platform at, 168. 
Shuham, 91. 
Signs of Senkereh tablet, 

126 sq. 
Silver, value of, 73. 



236 



THE TABEKNACLE. 



Singers, courses of, 85. 

Sirah Well, 49. 

Sixties , system of , 1 5 1 , 2 3 1 . 

Sockets, the, 194. 

Solomon, wife of, 64. 
anointed king, 84. 
reign of, 98. 

Song, service of, 71. 

Soreg or fence, the origin 
of, 173. 
position of, 182. 

Sossus,\he, 119,121, 132. 

Span, the, 221. 

Spies, the, journey of, 7. 

Spoons of Tabernacle, 5. 

Stability of the Taber- 
nacle, 205. 

Store - chambers of the 
Temple, 80. 

Strangers in the gate of the 
Tabernacle court, 218. 

Summary of conclusions, 
217 sq. 

Surur, 28. 

Suweinit, 54. 

Sword of Goliath given to 
David, 56. 

Taanach, 92, 96. 
Taanath-Shiloh, 25. 
Taberah, 7. 
Tabernacle, set up, 3. 
parts of, 3 sq. 
vessels of, 5. 
site of, at Jiljulieh, 

22. 
erection of, 22. 
at Shiloh, 24. 
re - erection of, at 

Gilgal, 30. 
taken from Gilgal, 52. 
at Nob, 52 sq. 
removed to Gibeon, 

56,58,61. 
David's,at Jerusalem, 

65 sq. 
two in Israel, 69. 
service of song in, 71. 
sacrifices in, 71. 
furniture carried to 

Jerusalem, 100. 
worship in,ceases, 101, 



adjuncts and acces- 
sories of, 159 sq. 

date of, 164. 

court of, 167. 

enclosure and hang- 
ings of, 169 sq. 

pillars of, 169. 

the North Gate, 170. 

place of sacrifice, 172. 

the door of, 173. 

screen of, 173. 

theSoreg or fence, 173. 

the East Gate, 175. 

hangings of, 175. 

the brasen altar, 1 78sq. 

position of, in its 
court, 182. 

measurements of, 183. 

the tent, 183 sq. 

section of inner court, 
183. 

the ten curtains, 202. 

the eleven curtains, 
185 sq. 

the porch, 187. 

parts of, 187. 

the door, 188. 

the ram-skins, 190. 

covering of porpoise 
hides, 191. 

floor of, 193. 

places of the veil and 
screen, 197. 

the veil, 198. 

the tent-poles, 202, 
205. 

ventilation of, 203, 
207. 

stability of, 205. 

how the curtains were 
hung, 208. 

the pins, 209. 

the cords, 209. 

the priests' chambers, 
210. 
Table of squares, 119. 
Tablet of Khorsabad, 221. 
Tabor, 95, 96. 
Taches, 206. 
Tell Ar ad, 9. 
Tell 'Ashterah, 93. 
Tell el-t'ul, 53. 



Tell Jiljulieh, 22. 
Tell Keimun, 92. 
Telloh, 141. 

Temple, the plans for, 78. 
dedication of, ] 00. 
building begun. 100. 
Tenons, the, 194, 212. 
Tent, the site of, at 

Jiljulieh, 22. 
Tent of Tabernacle, 183. 
Tent-poles, the, 202, 205. 
Threshing-floor of Oman, 

becomes site of brasen 

altar, 73 sq. 
Treasuries of the Temple, 

79, 80, 81. 

TJru-salim, 64. 
Uzzah, death of, 66. 

Veil, the, 198. 
Vessels of Tabernacle, 5. 

Wady-el-Arish, 66. 
Wady Ghurub, 28. 
Wady Hessi, 18, 21. 
Wady Ismail 33. 
Wady Qadees or Kadis, 6. 
Walled and unwalled 

cities, 39. 
Walls at Hebron, 43 sq. 
Warka, 118. 
Weaving, 199. 
Wilderness of Wandering, 

6. 
Wiseman, Mr. S., on 

cubits, 161. 

YaMle, 94. 
Yarmuk, 94. 
Yebla, 92. 
Yer/ca, 94. 

Zadok, 34. 

Zalmonah, 19. 

Zechariah, 76, 77, 173. 

Zelah, 58. 

Zephath . destruction of , 1 6 . 

Zered, 10. 

Zin, 7, 9. 

Zophai, 39 sq. 

Zuph, 39 sq., 50. 






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